Mustafa Ruhi Şirin is one of the most beautiful people in our country. A brilliant intellectual, an exceptional poet, a pioneer whose heart is on fire: A man who has devoted his life to children, especially to our gifted children, and who dedicates all his time to the generations that will build our future, trying to deceive our culture, art, and civilization.

I would like to share with you a nice proposal package that he wrote on how to develop resettlement and migration policies in the earthquake zone. I present these strong warnings and suggestions to the attention of our country's administrators against the danger of deterioration of the social, professional, and cultural fabric of the region.

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As it is known, Türkiye is a country that has been receiving continuous immigration since the Tanzimat years. These migrations increased after the 1878 (93 War) Ottoman-Russian war and the Balkan Wars. Especially the excess population of immigrants coming from the Balkans, established during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid (Mecidiye), and during the reign of Sultan Aziz (Aziziye). It is possible to deduce it by looking at the settlements built under the name of Abdülhamid (Hamidiye) and during the reign of Sultan Reşat (Reşadiye). But it is also a fact that there is no doubt that a new Andalusian experiment was carried out in the Balkans through these migrations.

Undoubtedly, it is possible to add to these the migrations of Kars, Erzurum, Erzincan and Ağrı, which could not tolerate the Caucasian migrations and Russian and Armenian occupations that took place in the 1860s. Although each of these migrations is necessary, it is well-known how much they put the economy of a country at war.

To be added to these, Türkiye witnessed two more great migration trials: The first of them was the refugee of around five million Syrian population in Türkiye, and the second was that the last earthquake disaster opened the door to major displacements within the country. When will the people of the region, who have been displaced from their homeland with fear and great financial losses, return to their cities, towns, and villages?

It seems difficult to predict these for now. However, considering that the incident is not just a matter of building buildings, it is also necessary to conduct a healthy study on the population structure of the people of the region.

The first three things to remember are:

1. Existing earthquake zones are those that have a high contribution to the country's economy. It has a leading feature in agriculture, fruit growing, vegetable growing, greenhouse cultivation, and dry food production. Therefore, it should be aimed to return the relevant populations to their own regions as soon as possible, by looking at the historical experiences and production capabilities of the population of the region. The sale of land and land by the population and families who cannot afford to return due to fear and panic should be prevented. Otherwise, the door will be opened to land speculators coming from outside the province who do not have production experience specific to the region, which poses a great danger. It should be remembered that the great wars and disasters caused historical property changes, and it should be ensured that the population and families of the region preserve their property by doing whatever they can. Even long-term laws can be enacted for this.

2. Another issue is the fact that the relevant regions are important industrial centers. As a matter of fact, it is a known fact that the industrial experience of the local people, the surplus of enterprises, and the production for export have turned into enthusiasm. However, most of these large industrial facilities are now destroyed. Such businesses are among the first classes to be supported in the region. Therefore, it is important for businesses to start operating gradually, without too much time intervening.

3. As a matter of fact, one of the best services that can be done in this field is to come together with business owners from sector to sector, listen to them and develop programs with them. It is the need to mobilize new locomotive sectors as soon as possible. In other words, the construction of demolished buildings should not be carried out independently, but in parallel and together with the needs of the economy. Competent and experienced construction contractors of the region and the labor force living in the region should be preferred in the construction mobilization in the earthquake zone.

However, no business is just a building, capital or machinery. Enterprises also have experienced staff, engineers, craftsmen and workers. In our opinion, the biggest loss in terms of region and businesses was experienced in this area. Experienced engineers, workers who turn their work into art and craftsmanship, etc. Unfortunately, these professionals, full of enthusiasm for production, dispersed all over Türkiye. Undoubtedly, if not today, they will definitely settle for a job in their field tomorrow. We have no doubt about it.

The region should not lose this population, but should be recalled. However, how this is achieved, it also needs to be studied. If returns are not achieved in this area, unskilled, non-productive populations will begin to fill the region from right to left. For this reason, it is a great duty for the regional economy and the national economy to support the experienced, productive classes who have left the region and will not dare to return, with all kinds of incentives.