The recent Turkish earthquake has shaped Turkey into a miserable condition. While operations for restoring society have continued, one of the factors has been halting the process and became one of the causes of making the situation worse. 

Turkey has been publicized before for their issue with corruption, but this earthquake - an incident in which 50,000 people died - was the catalyst for the fall of the government. Current president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was already infamous for his autocratic behavior and the embezzlement of public funds. His popularity had collapsed since the deadly earthquake after people found out that more than half of the buildings in the whole country had been poorly regulated in their safety measures, a result mostly caused by the president’s appointment of his relatives and friends. 

Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images

Moreover, Turkish government officials are accused of turning a blind eye to problems with poorly constructed buildings in cities after receiving bribes, which directly has caused a sharp increase in civilian casualties. There were also delays in assistance to the citizens affected by the earthquake which also caused the citizens to rage against the president. The Turkish government has also been accused of censorship of social media after several citizens have shown dissatisfaction against the president and his government. 

If Turkey wants to recover back to their glory, it will have to untangle this web of corruption, greed, and nepotism.
 
 

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