Antioch. "Aina Kent" in Turkish means Mirror Village. We realized it, exactly with this name, in agreement with the Turkish authorities and with the volunteers of Remar Sos, in the hilly area where the "new Antioch" is emerging, the provisional city, which will have to last at least a decade, pending the general reconstruction on which it is impossible to make predictions.
Here, on a hill, properly leveled and urbanized, 70 prefabricated houses have been placed, with a curious circular vault, which will accommodate about 300 earthquake victims, at least half of whom are minors. Here, the often extreme climate and strong daily temperature fluctuations make adequate countermeasures indispensable: 40 degrees Celsius is a summer norm, while snow is not uncommon in winter.
Meanwhile, Specchio dei tempi maintains its first base active, opened 200 days ago, already in the week after the earthquake: it was a nightclub that, all in reinforced concrete, had withstood the shocks very well. But, also due to the type of construction (a sort of concentric arena around a large dance floor), it could not represent a long-term solution. Josué Jimenez, the young Italo-Spanish manager of Remar Sos, is still using it, but he plans to abandon it as soon as Villaggio Specchio is ready: "It's time to move from a state of emergency to a moment of greater stability. Along with the village, we will also transfer the kitchen, the dining hall, the maxi containers for children's activities. And the nightclub will be returned to the owners, ready to return to its old activity and also to host the 'wedding parties' that everyone misses here."
A health center has also been set up with volunteer doctors and dentists from all over the world. In the plans, there is also the realization of an after-school program, essential to welcome the youngest in a safe place in the afternoon and on holidays: Specchio dei Tempi, which manages about fifteen after-school programs also in Turin, Rome, Naples, Bari, Crotone, Milan, Genoa, Sassari, and in Lucania, are ready - by drawing on these experiences - to implement a format that is a proper mix of teaching and games.
All these initiatives have been made possible by 3314 donations to Specchio dei Tempi, which have allowed a collection of 525,376 euros. Two-thirds of the money has already been used.
The remaining part will guarantee, for over a year, the supply of meals to Villaggio Specchio and support for all other collateral activities, including the distribution, several times a week, of food parcels in the smaller villages, those scattered along the Syria-Turkey border which, also for political reasons, have often been ignored by the aid chain.
