![]() She says most of the collapsed buildings she's researched were new luxury apartment complexes, built in the last decade, when the government privatized building inspections. Lawyers are preparing a raft of lawsuits.ĮSTRIN: Candemir says she's investigated more than 60 buildings and has found some patterns. Survivors can use it to upload photos of collapsed buildings. The Turkish Bar Association has an app called a Rubble Radar. It was substandard building material.Ĭandemir isn't the only one collecting evidence. She sent them to a civil engineer, who said it actually wasn't rebar at all. I wonder if that's a sign of cheap construction material.ĮSTRIN: I took photos and sent them to Candemir. These two hulking earthmovers are collecting enormous piles of rebar. I'll show some of the technical details to a friend who is a civil engineer.ĮSTRIN: I also visited the site of that destroyed building. The building's contractor was arrested.ĬANDEMIR: (Through interpreter) I told him, go there and take pictures. Relatives of earthquake victims also started contacting Candemir.ĬANDEMIR: (Through interpreter) A young man whose father died reached me.ĮSTRIN: The man's father was one of eight people killed when his building collapsed in Gaziantep. She says she began investigating collapsed buildings by contacting local reporters in the earthquake zone and asking them to send her information on contractors and building inspectors. She spoke to us on Zoom from her apartment in Istanbul. YASEMIN CANDEMIR: (Through interpreter) I may be quiet for some time, but I raise my voice when it is needed.ĮSTRIN: Now, she's one of many in Turkey from different walks of life using their social media accounts to spread awareness about the shoddy construction practices behind many of the buildings that collapsed in last month's earthquake. She knew that, as her followers grew, she could someday turn their attention to pressing matters. But after facing pressure not to publish sensitive stories, she turned to posting beauty advice on Instagram - things like face mists and vitamin E. ![]() NPR's Daniel Estrin reports that, in addition to people digging through the rubble, there are volunteers collecting evidence, including some social media influencers using their platforms.ĭANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Journalist Yasemin Candemir used to cover women's rights. ![]() In Turkey, there is public anger over unsafe construction practices after the earthquakes last month caused thousands of deadly building collapses.
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