Can you hear them crying?
From the rubbles and the ruins.
Tears of anguish,
Thickening the air,
with the levant lamenting!
Turkey & Syria is in mourning, and so is the whole world.
On 6 February 2023, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 , struck southern and central Turkey, and northern and western Syria, according to AFAD (The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (Turkish: Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı, also abbreviated as AFAD).
And now we are witnessing the aftermath of one of the most devastating earthquakes in modern history. Thousands of people dead and millions of people affected across Turkey and Syria. Harrowing scenes of the rescue missions are all over the internet. (viewer discretion is advised).
Kahramanmaraş, the city and region that gave the world the sweet delight of Donruma, aka Turkish Ice-cream, is now mourning the bitter tragedy. I am hearing the personal accounts of the incident from some of my very close friends, and business associates living in turkey. And their experiences are all the more heartbreaking.
Living thousands of miles away, all I can do is help spread the word to create awareness, and so can YOU!
Echoing the words of Merve Yılmaz’s article, A tribute to the victims of the Turkey earthquake,
“I am not writing this post to extensively express how saddened I am. It would be superficial to do so when there are so many people who have lost loved ones. However, I do want to share this pain with you and let you see it…”
One other significant way, we all can support the heroic rescue and rebuilding mission, is by donating to some of these charities. And we can do that from anywhere.
AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency): AFAD is a government-affiliated agency working on disaster response and management in Turkey.
https://en.afad.gov.tr/AKUT: AKUT is a well-established rescue and relief organization in Turkey, working very hard to assist those affected by the earthquake.
https://www.akut.org.tr/enAhbap: Ahbap is a non-profit organization dedicated to provide aid and support to those in need, especially during natural disasters like earthquakes.
https://ahbap.org/disasters-turkeySave the Children: It’s the international NGO (non-government organization) that works to improve the lives of Children across the globe and also provides emergency aid in natural disasters.
https://www.savethechildren.org/Red cross: The International Red Cross is a humanitarian movement that always works for such emergencies and crisis management.
https://www.icrc.org/en/donate/syria-emergency
In Conclusion, these are the times when the whole world must come together in solidarity. Most of the countries of the world are still reeling from the aftermath of the pandemic, not to mention the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war and now this. But humanity has always won against all odds. Our thoughts, prayers and condolences are with the lost angels. Let us unit, once more, in the faces of adversity and extend our able to hands to our brothers and sisters of Syria and Turkey.
I have no vested interest in any of the above mentioned organizations or charities, and the entire purpose of this article is only to create awareness in the hour of need.