The Horrible Story That Remains
They were born 15 days apart and have never been separated except for the military service. Cousins Hüseyin and Hasan Hilaloğlu, 22, were caught together in the horrible attack that hit Reyhanlı. They both lost their left eyes and left fingers in the blast.
Hüseyin Hilaloğlu was born exactly 22 years ago on July 8th and Hasan was born 15 days after. They were cousins but grew up like twins. After their families migrated from Reyhanlı to Istanbul, they played on the same streets and went to the same schools, all the while watching out for each other. They shared their first adventures, fears and dreams. After school, they chose the same profession: men’s hairdressing. They started military service on the same day.
When the military service was finally over and they returned back to Istanbul, they had common plans. They started a barbershop together. They took their first steps towards starting their respective families. Hüseyin got engaged with a fellow townswoman called Merve Karadeniz. Hasan took a young woman’s word for marriage again from his hometown.
Hüseyin Hilaloğlu wanted to have an outdoor wedding ceremony at his hometown Reyhanlı. The ceremony was scheduled for the night of May 11th. They went to Reyhanlı a week in advance for the preparations. The venue was reserved, the invitations were sent and the groom’s suit and the bride’s wedding gown were chosen.
The wedding was to start at 7 p.m. Hüseyin was concerned about the rainy weather which would ruin the outdoor party. He hoped for the best and went to pick up his fiancee Merve Karadeniz (18) from her home in Altınözü. They had already chosen the wedding gown but somehow changed their minds at the last minute. There was still time for the hairdresser appointment so they visited the stores all over again and finally bought another one. They arrived at the hairdresser’s for the bridal hairdo. This time, the hairdresser did not like the bridal crown and demanded that it was changed. The groom hurriedly went and bought a new one. He started off his way to get changed to his groom’s suit. Just as Merve reached for her headscarf, a huge blast was heard and afterwards pieces of shattered glass lashed down on them.
At the same time Hüseyin, who just left the hairdresser’s, wanted to drive the motorbike that Hasan had borrowed. Hasan sat at the back. Hüseyin speeded up and in a matter of seconds a huge explosion blew them away.
AT DEATH’S DOOR
Suddenly, for both of them, everything went dark. None could figure out that the reason for the severe explosion was a bomb. Hüseyin Hilaloğlu recalls: “I thought they blew up our bike. I don’t know if we tumbled down or were blown up. I found myself on the ground. My first thought was death. I didn’t feel pain but some kind of warmth, probably due to blood. I touched Hasan and called out to him but he did not respond. I couldn’t see anything.”
Hasan also felt that he was blown away by the blast. He fell off, could breathe but could not open his eyes. He checked himself with his hands. First, he felt that his left eye was missing, and then felt a warm feeling on his neck. Blood was gushing out of his neck. “I figured that my condition was severe and accepted death. I started whispering the shahada. A few people came to pick me up. They held me by the arms. My nose had blown off, there was blood piling up at my throat, I could only breathe from my mouth. Then another boom and people shouted “run away.” I thought that the attackers started shooting those who were still alive.”
THEIR RELATIVES COULD HARDLY IDENTIFY THEM
When the explosions were finally over, there were people coming for help. People nearby took Hüseyin and Hasan to different hospitals by cars. While Hüseyin was waiting for medical intervention at the hospital, he heard his brother’s voice who came to look for him. His brother recognized him by his trousers. “I can’t forget my brother’s scream when he found me.”
It was a weekend and there were too many injured people at the hospital. Perhaps because of the more severe cases, his turn did not come for a long time and Hasan, while waiting on a gurney, thought that he was forgotten. He rose to his feet and although he could see nothing, walked towards the noises. He figured that there was chaos. Somebody approached him and asked, “What are you doing?” Hasan said, “I’m dying.” The response was “There is nothing wrong with you.” He was brought to the gurney again. His left index finger was about to break off. Then, another cousin and Hasan’s fiancee who came to look for both men recognized him from his watch and trousers. His face was incognizable. They took him to another hospital. At the hospital he begged, “I can’t take it anymore, please put me to sleep. Whatever you do, please give me back my eyes.” He was immediately operated by ophthalmologists and orthopedists simultaneously.
LEFT EYES AND LEFT FINGERS
They both had shrapnel and shattered glass injuiries especially on the eyes and hands. Following the first intervention at Hatay, they were taken to Liv Hospital, Istanbul by the air ambulance of the Ministry of Health. Ophthalmologist Prof. Ziya Kapran and orthopedists operated them simultaneously. Hüseyin’s left finger could not be saved but Hasan’s was stitched back. However, the hardest battle was fought for the eyes. Prof. Kapran stated that Hüseyin’s left eye was completely damaged and he would receive a prosthetic eye in the future. He had more luck at the right eye. Although there were indeed tears in his right eye, they were not central and were already treated. Hasan was not as lucky. He was severely injured in both eyes with the left eye in a more critical condition. He was operated two times in Istanbul and was told that he might lose his left eye. He started to see at one meter with his right eye. Prof. Kapran stated, “This is a very difficult process for both the patient and the physician. We keep calling them back for follow-ups. Reoperation may be required. We call this a fight for sight and we must win it.”
Source: Hürriyet
