A study on the neighborhood relationships of women whose neighborhoods have changed due to earthquake: The case of Elazığ

Events such as natural disasters perceived as threats to individuals or their loved ones, death, acts of terror, and accidents are referred to as traumatic situations. Natural disasters that suddenly occur in daily life are one of these traumatic situations and are uncontrollable events. In our country, which is located on active fault lines, many devastating earthquakes have occurred throughout history. Large earthquakes not only cause economic and physical losses but also result in significant psychological and sociological losses. Following an earthquake, one of the sociological problems caused by earthquakes is the need for women living in collapsed or unusable houses after the earthquake to change their neighborhoods and consequently be separated from their neighbors, as well as the difficulties they experience in establishing neighborly relationships in the new neighborhoods they move to. The aim of this study is to determine the opinions of women who had to change their neighborhoods after the earthquake that occurred on January 24, 2020, in Elazığ, regarding their neighborly relationships. The universe of the study consists of women living in Yemişlik, Zafran, and Bizmişen TOKİ housing areas, which were constructed as new living areas after the earthquake in Elazığ, while the sample of the study consists of 30 women living in these neighborhoods. The study was conducted using qualitative research method and a semi-structured interview form was used. As a result of the research, it was found that women have positive opinions about neighborly relationships, that neighborly relationships are considered more than just family, relative, or sibling relationships, and that the frequency of their interactions with neighbors decreased due to not knowing each other and lack of trust between them during both pre and post-earthquake processes. It was also determined that women usually engage in activities such as sitting together at homes, having tea/coffee conversations, and they generally include everyone in the neighborhood group. Additionally, they warned or ignored neighbors who did not comply with communal living rules. Keywords: Disaster, Earthquake, Women, Neighborliness, Elazığ