MANILA, Philippines – Nicole believes that her mother, overseas Filipina worker Wilma Abulad Tezcan, died with her arms outstretched and embracing the frail, old father of her employer as buildings in the area collapsed from a powerful earthquake – unyielding in her compassion until the end.
This was after Nicole and her step-father found her body in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that hit Turkey, ending the four-day search that also cemented the grief of Tezcan's family and loved ones waiting back home.
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"When her body was found, they also unearthed another body. Her arms were around the parent of her employer. I thought then, she wanted to save him because he was already old," Nicole recalled in Filipino in an interview with reporters.
Tezcan is one of two Filipinos who died in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 9. They are among the at least 41,000 killed in one of the deadliest disasters to ravage Turkey in nearly a century.
Rescuers found Tezcan’s body after combing through the rubble in Antakya City in Hatay, one of the worst-hit cities.
Tezcan, who worked as a household caretaker, was on vacation with the family of her employer in Antakya City when the earthquake struck. Tezcan shared on Facebook on January 27 that the trip was also her first vacation this year.
Tezcan's remains were repatriated from Turkey to the Philippines on Wednesday evening with the help of the Philippine embassy there. Waiting to receive Tezcan's body at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport was her father William Abulad and several officials from the Office of Migrant Workers Affairs and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
“It hurts to see that my mother is gone. Up to now I still can’t accept that this happened to her. But at least we have brought my mother home,” Nicole said in an interview with News5.
Tezcan will be laid to rest in her hometown of Lucena City, Quezon on Friday or Saturday.
The Philippine government has sent an 85-person team to Turkey – which includes disaster response and healthcare workers – to conduct relief, rescue and evacuation operations for Filipinos affected by the catastrophe.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it also now coordinating with overseas Filipino workers who have requested to be repatriated to the Philippines.