Türkiye and Syria Earthquake - Our Stories from the Ground
Members of our team have just returned from Türkiye, travelling to the most affected areas of the recent earthquakes to provide emergency relief in the form of hot meals and water, warm blankets, winter clothing and more. From city to city, they have witnessed the horrific devastation that has killed thousands of lives and uprooted thousands more.
Our team on the ground have provided us with their eye witness accounts of the true destruction these earthquakes have caused. In the following videos you will hear stories of the lives that have been ruined by this disaster but also of the extraordinary relief effort as volunteers and aid agencies have clubbed together to save as many lives as possible.
The Levelling of Kahramanmaras
Kahramanmaras was one of the most affected areas in southern Türkiye, being the epicentre of the second earthquake to hit last Monday. The once vibrant city has now been completely levelled by this earthquake. Muslim Hands Türkiye travelled for 22 hours through the night to deliver aid to the survivors there, while people were rescued from the rubble. In this video, we see the extent of the devastation there and the impact this disaster has had on the locals.
Our Digital Manager, Ayman Agabani, walks through the ruins of family homes as the shock and devastation of the situation overwhelms him. As he sees a child's doll stuck in the rubble, he exclaims, 'Look at this, a child's doll. There was a family living here, a young child living here. Just destroyed.'
In a disaster that is being labelled one of the deadliest in a century, this is just the untold story of one family and one child's toy. Thousands of people are still missing and thousands more still need emergency relief as they are now living on the side of the road, burning whatever they can get their hands on to stay warm through the night.
Sixteen Family Members Dead
As we continued to deliver emergency aid across the affected regions, our team on the ground met one man who was not only helping to deliver aid to those affected, but who has also lost 16 members of his own family in the disaster, including two young children. This horrific story is an example of how these earthquakes have destroyed thousands more lives then the ones they have killed.
Despite his harrowing grief, this man was extremely grateful of all of the relief efforts that Türkiye has received so far and how generous you, our donors from the UK have been to the victims of the earthquakes.
This is the reality of so many in Türkiye and Syria, as even those that have survived now most fight for their lives as freezing temperatures reach as low as -18 degrees Celsius.
Father and Son Rescue Mission
During a rescue mission for a father and son, our team joined a group of volunteers from Gaziantep who had managed to save up to 28 people from the rubble. Two of those people were a mother and child who has their home collapse on them and the team managed to save them by drilling a hole through the building in order to reach them. However, the father and their 5-year old were still missing and were believed to have been stuck in the basement level of their home.
However this rescue mission has also pulled out the bodies of members of a Syrian family that has passed away. This was the reality for just one area that was badly hit, while other areas of Türkiye and Syria still desperately need your help now during this rescue mission and for what comes next.
Just £150 will go a long way for the survivors of this disaster. It could provide 100 people with hot meals or provide 12 heavy-duty, warm winter blankets. Give now to the people of Türkiye and Syria.
