Victor Kotsev and Nikolia Apostolou

Special for USA TODAY

ISTANBUL — Some avoid the subways, others the main squares. But many Turks in this sprawling metropolis say such precautions are useless after this week's suicide bombing at Ataturk airport because it's only a matter of time until the next terrorist attack.

Previous attacks here, in Brussels and in Paris drew huge crowds onto the streets in solidarity against terrorism. But after Tuesday's bombing, which killed 44 and wounded hundreds, the response in Istanbul was noticeably muted.

Residents said they were already bracing for something like this to happen again in a country that has suffered through nearly 20 terrorist attacks that killed 300 people and injured more than 1,000 others.

"Almost every month since June 2015, there have been suicide bombings all over the country," said Ege Memis, 24, a student. "The only protection people have is their luck."

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“People have begun to ask, how many have to die before people become shocked,” said Erkan Saka, assistant professor of communications at Bilgi University in Istanbul. “Some citizens believe that Turkish authorities ignored jihadist activities so long that now they are hard to stop. So numbness comes out of helplessness.”

Since Tuesday's attack, Istanbul's squares and main streets have been less crowded in this usually jammed city of 15 million. Many Turks say they prefer to meet with friends at home rather than go out in public.

“My wife went to use the metrobus today and she is scared. Public places can be attacked any time,” said Irfan Aral, owner of a shop in the central district of Ortakoy. “When I go out ... if the area is very crowded, I try not to go there.”

Some expressed bitterness over the situation.“We need peace," said Esin Orhan, 28, a musician in Istanbul. “No one deserves to be collateral damage. But that's how the world makes us feel — like we should be just lucky to be alive and would only become some numbers if we end up being murdered.”

The government claims that heavy security set up at the airport prevented the death toll from being even higher, but that did not reassure many people. Heavily guarded government areas in Turkey's capital of Ankara were also targeted with two major bombings this year.

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Many people say the government is powerless or refusing to take stronger action against terrorists, or both. Plus, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cracked down on journalists and other critics of his increasing grip on power.

"There is no longer any possibility of criticizing (the government), demanding action or even spreading the word or informing themselves. All of this is banned," said Jenny White, an expert at the Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies.

She said people in Turkey know the government is unable to protect them and that they have no control over the government.

Some compare the current situation to Turkey in the 1970s and '80s, a violent time with military coups and armed street clashes between rightists and leftists.

"I experienced this myself,” White said about living in Ankara in the 1970s. “Upon hearing an explosion that was clearly a bomb, someone would look up from the newspaper and say, ‘Oh, was that the French Cultural Center?’, then go back to reading. It was only when I left Turkey and let out a scream in a British cafeteria where someone dropped a tray that I realized how shot my nerves were.”

Apostolou reported from Athens.