Turkish community in France sends aid trucks for quake victims

By Gazi Nogay

KAHRAMANMARAS, Türkiye (AA) – Two truckloads of humanitarian aid sent by the Turkish community in France for earthquake victims arrived in Kahramanmaras on Monday.

Relief supplies were collected in a campaign launched by members of the Chateaubriant Association, founded by people of Turkish descent living in Pays de la Loire, a region in western France.

A total of 25 tons of aid were collected in just a few days for people affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes in southern Türkiye.

The supplies include food, medicines, bedding, clothes, shoes, heaters, beds, and tents.

French people also supported the drive, with a Frenchman contributing 500 wheelchairs and crutches.

The relief supplies were loaded onto two trucks that were shipped from Marseille to Yalova, a town in northwestern Türkiye, and then driven to Kahramanmaras.

The aid was delivered to the Turkish disaster management agency AFAD’s warehouse in Kahramanmaras, which was the epicenter of the deadly quakes that have now claimed more than 41,100 lives.

Nihat Kilic, head of the Chateaubriant Association, said the group was deeply saddened by the disaster.

“We will try to do our best. May God help us. We must stand together in unity and solidarity,” he said.

Kilic said the group has also donated €65,000 ($69,000) to AFAD.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes have affected more than 13 million people in 11 southern Turkish provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

* Writing by Muhammed Enes Calli