Arab communities race to help quake victims in Türkiye, Syria

By Muhammad Sheikh Yusuf

ISTANBUL (AA) - Arab communities in Türkiye have launched campaigns to provide help to thousands of people affected by two violent earthquakes that struck the country on Monday.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Türkiye's Kahramanmaras province early Monday and another magnitude 7.6 quake hit the same area in the afternoon, killing at least 8,574 people and injuring 49,133 others, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In Syria, government and rescue officials reported that nearly 2,530 people were killed and over 4,645 others wounded in the quakes.

Following the quakes, nearly 40 Arab associations and communities in Türkiye issued a joint statement declaring their "full solidarity with the Turkish and Syrian peoples in their ordeal and painful affliction."

They called on their members to provide all kinds of support by making donations to the official authorities and organizations, and organizing relief convoys to rescue those under the rubble and shelter the homeless.

The Arab organizations said their volunteers are ready to participate in efforts aimed at relieving the quake victims in Türkiye and Syria.

Among the signatories of the statements were representatives of the Syrian, Egyptian, Yemeni, Tunisian and Palestinian communities as well as various Arab organizations.

- Blood donation

Members of Arab communities also raced to donate blood to the quake victims in both Türkiye and Syria.

A blood donation campaign was organized by the Egyptian-Turkish House as part of support to those affected by the quake in Türkiye.

Another blood donation campaign is planned by the Union of Arab Communities.

Arab communities also organized campaigns to send volunteers to the affected areas to help in rescue efforts for quake victims in Türkiye and Syria.

One of these campaigns was organized by the Palestinian community in Türkiye.

“Our campaign includes dozens of Palestinian civil society institutions present in Türkiye and from the Palestinian diaspora,” Mohammed Abu Taqiya, a spokesman for the "Palestine With You" campaign, told Anadolu.

“The campaign aims to send messages of support for the Turkish and Syrian peoples,” he added.

The spokesman noted that the campaign is being organized in coordination with official Turkish organizations such as AFAD and the Turkish Red Crescent.

"Volunteers also participated in efforts to help the afflicted, and identify those missing, in addition to organizing donation campaigns,” he added.

- Fundraising

The Syrian Forum also launched a campaign to raise funds for the quake victims in Syria. Similar efforts were organized by the Syrian Emergency Response Team, and the AISA Association for International Schools in Türkiye.

"We launched a campaign from our Istanbul office as our offices in Syria were still in shock,” Atef Nanoua, the head of the Syrian Molham volunteering team, told Anadolu.

"There was a good interaction with the campaign from all over the world. Our fundraising platform has so far collected more than $1.5 million,” he added.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi in Ankara contributed to this report.