Foreword: Before this event, our whole family used to think that the AtatĂźrk Airport was safe. Everyone would feel safe because of all the security and police
around. After the bombing happened, no one feels comfortable in the place they
should most feel comfortable in. To my mother (Binnur Onaran) I was one of the lucky ones. During the attack I had just left my office and was walking towards the check in areas. I heard the guns and immediately started running back, and the second bombings has started, our office windows were broken, everybody's mouth was wide open, everyone was shouting and it was pretty noisey. We hid in the corner of the office under the tables. But the next minute we decided to go and check our colleagues because we were so worried about our friends and passengers. Unfortunately I've lost 14 of my colleagues during the attack. When we arrived the check in areas, we've witnessed terrible things. Everywhere was full of blood and human bodies. Now we are still under physiological medication and trying to rehabilitate. We were asked by the Government to open the airport by 5 o'clock in the morning. So, we've called our personnel from home and 8 hours later airport started the operation but of course it took us around 2 weeks to bring our airport to it’s previous shape. Windows, display screens, video walls, ceilings. Most of the things were completely damaged. I am responsible from the Computer systems in the airport, so while we were trying to replace the damaged computers and screens with my team around two-hundred people, the cleaning staff arrived around 1:00 a.m and around six-hundred people came for the clean up. The attack took about forty-five minutes approximately. There were forty-one dead and 230 injured. This event happened Tuesday evening 29th of June 2016. There were three suicide bombers and four attackers.
This is Ecem Onaran. She is the daughter of Binnur Onaran. She She lives in Turkey and she studies seventh grade in Istanbul International Community School. Ecem is half Canadian and half Turkish. She likes smiling and making people happy.