Dozens of quake survivors sheltering in VIP lounge at Gaziantep airport

GAZIANTEP  — Dozens of men, women and children, whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the earthquakes in southern Turkey are sheltering in the VIP lounge of the Gaziantep airport.

Almost all of them are people with relatives who work at the airport, where they have safe shelter, electricity and heating.

“We are scared to go back,” says one man, whose father works at the airport. This includes several entire families, including some with small children, who are passing the time by watching news of the rescue efforts or speaking to friends and relatives on the phone.

One man, who came with his wife and four-year-old daughter, says they don’t yet know when they’ll go back.

“Our home was damaged, but not too bad. Maybe we can fix it. It’s hard because my wife and I are just school teachers,” he says, struggling to speak in English.