Graffiti artist volunteers to heal children's trauma with colors after Türkiye's earthquakes

By Dilara Hamit

GAZIANTEP, Türkiye (AA) - A volunteer graffiti artist at a tent city in Türkiye's quake-hit Gaziantep province is healing the traumas of children through art and other activities.

Senol Karakaya spends time daily with about 50 children at the tent city in Islahiye after the Feb. 6 earthquakes in Türkiye.

"We've come for a volunteer effort to help our children's mood. Children's Street is a project that we developed, and we are here to help children paint and color their dreams," he told Anadolu in an interview.

Volunteers plan activities like flying kites, creating sculptures and painting with children in the tent city.

"Colors have a significant impact. Blue, for example, is associated with tranquility, and yellow resembles the child's light. We also analyze the colors they use and see how terrified they are. Colors are our primary shields, distracting us from the psychological state of the devastation and our worries. Colors serve as a uniting factor in our lives. This type of work allows us to glimpse the light in their eyes," he said.

Karakaya noted that during the first days, children were afraid of getting out of their tents and that they were afraid of the dark since they experienced the earthquake at 4:17 a.m. local time.

"Because they experienced an earthquake at 4 a.m., as there was no electricity when they went out, it was dark everywhere and there was an environment where people were screaming. That's why the dark seems so frightening to them. Many witnessed the loss of friends and family and are in psychological ruin. While we were here, these fears of the children continued. We chose to introduce colors to drive them away. We try to revive the characters in their dream worlds and distract them from their fears," he said.

Türkiye has provided shelter to nearly 1.6 million people affected by the Feb. 6 strong earthquakes in the southern region. A total of 332 tent cities and 360,167 tents were set up in the earthquake zone.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes, claiming more than 45,000 lives.