A government team forced a young Turkish man to take a shower, after forcefully taking him to a care center, and ending the continuous state of indifference he had been living in for nearly 3 years, without taking a shower.
A video clip showed Barış Ozbay (23 years old) on his way to the bathroom and getting a haircut after his touching story became the talk of the country over the past two days.
Local media said that the governor of Hatay state in southern Turkey, Mustafa Masatli, intervened in the young man’s story, and sent a team from the Department of Family and Social Services to his home in the hope of convincing him to take a bath.
The government team decided to take the young man by force after he refused to respond to them, before he showed some flexibility while cutting his hair, shaving his beard, and then taking him to the bathroom in a center for the care of people with special needs.
Since the devastating earthquake of February 6, 2023, Barış has been living in a new house after the destruction of his family home and the loss of many of his relatives. He is no longer indifferent or interested in any activity or work.
The young man spends his day playing mobile phone and computer games, without leaving his home during that period, or joining his university, which he left after the earthquake.
Barış’s story has received great attention in recent days, and his fifty-year-old mother, Samra, gained a lot of sympathy when she spoke to the local press about the suffering of her son, who has not left the house or showered since they moved to a new house after the earthquake.
The young man will undergo treatment for any physical health complaints, while he does not complain of any psychological problems other than a state of neglect and unwillingness to do anything, in the hope that he will return to his normal life, even though he showed indifference after the bath.
The 2023 earthquake struck ten cities in southern Turkey and a number of cities in northwestern Syria, leaving nearly 60,000 dead, a large number of injured, and massive destruction, the economic and psychological repercussions of which continue to this day.
