Ghanaian Midfielder Priscilla Okyere Shares Emotional Trauma Of Surviving Turkey Earthquake
Ghana midfielder Priscilla Okyere has expressed her emotional trauma after surviving the catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey on Monday.
Okyere, who plays for Hatayspor’s women’s team, is currently seeking refuge in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.
The earthquake has caused immense destruction and has claimed the lives of more than 20,000 individuals in both Turkey and Syria, with the death toll expected to increase.
“I have not been sleeping for four days – I’m so scared to go to sleep,” Okyere told BBC Sport Africa.
“Even today, we had a safe place to sleep. I haven’t closed my eyes from 5am til now.
“When someone bangs the door, I wake up because I’m scared. I don’t want to close my eyes and realise this thing is happening again.”
The harrowing experience has left Okyere deeply affected. Although most people in southern Turkey are used to feeling tremors, Okyere initially believed that the earthquake was just a normal occurrence.
“I was terrified. I cried for days,” she explained.
“I can’t imagine how lucky we were to get out from that situation, because most people couldn’t get out. But we were able to.”
Okyere joined Hatayspor six months ago from Israeli club Tel-Aviv Beersheva.
