Dear readers,
The event that marked the summer holidays this year was the forest fires that affected the south of Europe and all Mediterranean countries.
Our country, our motherland, Spain, Italy, France and Portugal were the countries where forest fires were most experienced in the Mediterranean region.
Thousands of hectares of forest and green space have been burned and hundreds of lives have been lost in the area stretching from Turkey to Spain, which have battling devastating forest fires.
In the Mediterranean region, the EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism mobilised and jointly responded to fires in the Mediterranean belt.
Unfortunately, although our country struggles with forest fires every year, it is inadequate with respect to its technical equipment to fight fires, and it has no policy on fire prevention.
In face of the fact that forest fires will threaten our country even more in the coming years due to the global climate crisis, politicians should create a serious budget on this issue by establishing a policy on fighting fires.
Although the aid package announced after the fires helps heal the wounds, the main problem is the policy to be formed before the fires and the budget associated with it, preventing our country from experiencing such painful, destructive and difficult times again.
Because we know that the Prime Minister’s approval of the immediate use of a 500 million euro aid package for those affected by natural disasters during the fires was not enough to heal the wounds.
Although we fight fires every year, the issue of fire fighting should not be underestimated, and the protection of the ecological and biological existence and diversity of the country should be treated as seriously as the defense policy and the corresponding defense budget.
Because our country is unique, precious! Every living thing that lives on it is not only part of us, it’s part of Mother Nature!
Therefore, the fight against forest fires should be examined in all dimensions and should constitute an integral part of a serious policy.
Indeed, we’ve all seen that once the forests caught fire, it wasn’t possible to cope with it as a result of the magnitude of the fires and the incomplete policies, even though the fire fighters and other civil defense teams fought incredibly hard.
I hope that the rulers of my country will immediately establish the necessary measures, precautions and policies in the hope that the mistakes made in the past will not be repeated and that they will not be reckless before possible forest fires next summer.
Stay healthy.
Halit Habip Oğlu
ABTTF President
