Instead, the 48-year-old decided to pin her hopes on a fight for justice, demanding that those she holds responsible for the collapse of her building near the quake's epicentre in the city of Kahramanmaras are hunted down and brought to account.
"I will not stay silent until justice is served," she told AFP at one of the small container homes that serve as the temporary residences for hundreds of thousands of survivors across 11 quake-hit provinces.
Seker lived in Kahramanmaras's Ebrar complex, a centrally located group of eight-floor buildings where 1,400 died when the first 7.8-magnitude tremor struck in the pre-dawn hours of February 6, 2023.
Officials said nearly 7,500 buildings collapsed in the city centre alone, overwhelming rescuers in snowy storms that descended on the region at the time.
Seker pulled out the bodies of her two children with her bare hands on the sixth day.
"They took away my joy for life. It's been a year. I can't get over this trauma. I wanted to die many times," she said, breaking down in tears.
"Only justice will console me now."
- Ignored warnings -
The disaster, which killed more than 50,000 people in all, was Turkey's deadliest in many centuries.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed the scale of the toll on negligent building contractors, accusing them of cutting corners by using cheap concrete and ignoring basic construction standards.
More than 200 contractors and developers were arrested in the immediate aftermath of the quake. Some tried to flee abroad and were detained at Istanbul airports.
But lawyers representing victims' families fear that numerous contractors may escape blame because much of the incriminating evidence disappeared when bulldozers cleared the debris.
Meanwhile, probes into public officials who approved building permits and signed off on the safety inspections may only be launched with the interior ministry's permission, which has been conspicuous by its absence.
Nebahat Pacala, who lost her husband, daughter and granddaughter, said she kept warning contractors they were building on unstable ground and violating safety codes.
"They built a prayer room below the first floor. They cut the supporting columns," 68-year-old said, adding that her apartment walls had begun to swell because of water damage.
"But the contractors threatened my son when we warned them," Pacala said.
- Missing evidence -
Tevfik Tepebasi, a senior contractor at the Ebrar site, argued in court that he should not be charged with a crime because, he said, "I don't know anything about construction" -- an argument that created uproar in the Turkish media.
He faces up to 22 and a half years in prison if convicted of causing death or injury by gross negligence, and is being prosecuted in other quake-related cases too.
Gamze Bilginer Dogan, 29, who lost her parents and nine-year-old daughter at the complex, was nervous before walking into court for the trial's second hearing earlier this month.
"I am here so that Tepebasi does not walk free," she told AFP.
An expert report obtained by AFP on one of the collapsed buildings at the complex concluded that rules were "not sufficiently complied with".
The report identified local council officials responsible for project oversight as a "primary negligent party".
But Omer Godeoglu, a lawyer for the families, said a lack of evidence could mitigate punishment for those responsible.
"While everyone was focused on their lost loved ones, evidence was removed and the rubble was cleared early," he told AFP.
- Controversial amnesty -
At a rally in Kahramanmaras in 2019, Erdogan praised a hugely controversial zoning amnesty that allowed buildings erected in violation of safety standards to stay standing in return for a one-off payment to the government.
Erdogan called it a cure for Turkey's chronic housing problems, offering 145,000 additional people homes in Kahramanmaras alone.
Today, its detractors blame the zoning exemption for the quake's tragic death toll.
"The zoning amnesty is legal on paper, but the question here is whether contractors sought to make a profit with the help of municipalities," lawyer Godeoglu said.
At the ruins of a former five-floor building, Tuba Erdemoglu, 35, showed AFP pieces of foam usually used for insulation.
She alleged that foam -- rather than reinforced concrete -- was used in the building's supporting columns.
Forty-four of the building's residents died, including Erdemoglu's sister and parents.
"This building collapsed in seconds. Foam was falling like snow," Erdemoglu said.
"I want the local council staff to be included in the case," she added. "I will never forgive those who murdered my family."
'Time has stopped': Grieving father relives Turkish quake
Ankara (AFP) Jan 28, 2024 -
The photo of Mesut Hancer holding his dead daughter's hand protruding from the debris, her body crushed and his gaze lost, epitomised the anguish of Turkey's devastating earthquake.
In the year since the February 6, 2023 disaster claimed more than 50,000 lives, the bereaved father and his family have left their partially ruined southeastern city of Kahramanmaras and are trying to rebuild their lives in Ankara.
They will return to the quake zone to commemorate the anniversary and visit the grave of Irmak, who was killed in her sleep at the age of 15.
"A year has passed but time has stopped for us. This pain does not go away," Hancer said, sitting in a living room whose walls are covered with photographs and drawings of his daughter.
"I don't stop thinking about her for a minute," added her mother, Gulseren.
The day before the disaster, Irmak had gone to her grandmother's house to see her cousins, who had come over from Istanbul and Hatay.
She insisted on staying overnight, never imagining that nearly all the 22 high-rise buildings in her grandmother's Ebrar housing complex would topple like a house of cards, killing 1,400 people.
By the time Mesut and his son Berkay, 23, were able to reach the scene, only piles of rubble remained.
They had to wait until daybreak to start looking for Irmak, clearing the debris with their bare hands.
Mesut only spotted his daughter's lifeless body -- still lying on her mattress between two heavy slabs of concrete -- the next day.
"Seeing her like that hurt me so much," he said.
- 'Take photos of my child' -
Petrified with grief, he sat next to her in the ruins, holding her cold, pale, protruding hand.
Irmak was the youngest of his four children.
Mesut did not know how long he sat there before seeing AFP photographer Adem Altan pointing the camera his way.
"Take photos of my child," Mesut whispered to Altan.
The image struck a nerve.
It was picked up by world media, went viral online and was shared hundreds of thousands of times.
Moved by the story, Nejat Gulseven, an Ankara businessman who owns Turkey's TV 100 channel, offered accommodations and a job to Mesut, who worked as a baker in Kahramanmaras.
Since the disaster, Berkay has become a police officer, hoping to join one of the special search and rescue units that were deployed during the quake.
"We are trying to get used to Ankara," Mesut said.
"I also lost my mother, brother, sister-in-law and my nieces in the earthquake. But there is nothing like losing your child."
- No hope for justice -
The Ebrar housing complex was built on unstable ground, using poor quality material and concrete that could be crumbled into little pieces by hand, according to the conclusions of a report by legal experts.
Two of the contractors involved in its construction rejected charges of wilful negligence when they appeared in court for the first time earlier this month.
Mesut said he does not believe that justice will ever be served.
"A year has passed and one of the developers is still on the run. They build it on a former river bed. Those who authorised the construction are also responsible," he said.
The family did not file a civil suit, thinking the effort would be in vain.
"It's not going to bring my daughter back," her mother Gulseren said.
The trials launched since the quake only target developers and contractors, sparing politicians and civil servants who authorised the building permits.
Instead, the Hancer family will be at Irmak's grave, grieving on February 6.
"The cemetery where she rests is now my second home," Gulseren said. "I feel like she's waiting for me there."
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