Ghana midfielder Priscilla Okyere has revealed her emotional trauma after surviving the earthquake disaster that struck Turkey on Monday.
Okyere, who plays for the Hatayspor women’s team, is now in refuge in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.
The earthquake has caused massive damage and claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people in Turkey and Syria, with the death toll expected to rise.
“I haven’t slept in four days – I’m too scared to sleep,” Okyere told BBC Sport Africa.
“Even today, we have a safe place to sleep. I haven’t closed my eyes since 5 o’clock until now.
“When someone knocks on the door, I wake up because I’m scared. I don’t want to close my eyes and know this is happening again.
The harrowing experience left Okyere deeply affected. Although most people in southern Turkey are used to feeling the tremors, Okyere believes that the earthquake is just a normal occurrence.
“I was very scared. I cried for days,” he explained.
“I can’t imagine how lucky we were to get out of that situation, because most people don’t. But we did.
Okyere joined Hatayspor six months ago from Israeli club Tel-Aviv Beersheva.
Like most people living in southern Turkey, the club’s players have had their share of tremors before. So when the earthquake hit on Monday, they believed it was normal.
“We came from a game in Istanbul and didn’t get home until 2am,” he said.
“We had to take a shower and then sleep, so I thought it was a dream because since I arrived in Hatay, I experienced (tremors) twice. Sometimes the building just shakes for 30 seconds and stops.
“When it happened, I thought it was normal, but I realized that it was stronger than before.”
“When I came down, the building just collapsed, and everyone was crying, trying to find shelter,” he said.
“It’s raining outside, and everyone’s cold. We’re not wearing any jackets – nothing. We’ve been out barefoot.
“We didn’t think about the cold at that time. What we wanted to think about was how to get a passport.
“We had to seek shelter in someone’s car for almost five hours before everything calmed down, and then we could go home.”
Unfortunately, his compatriot Christian Atsu, who plays for Hatayspor’s men’s team, and the club’s sporting director, Taner Savut, are still absent.
Source: Ghanasoccernet.com
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