Canadians rush to help Türkiye amid major earthquakes

By Seyit Aydogan

TORONTO (AA) – Canadians continue their relief efforts to help Türkiye following two major earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye earlier this week.

Aid centers opened in coordination with Türkiye's Consulate Generals in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver to provide support to the country's Muslim community as well as to the Canadian population.

The aid centers in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are busy over the weekend.

Türkiye's Consul General in Toronto, Sinem Mingan, said that the support has long exceeded Turkish society and Canadians from all walks of life rush to Türkiye's centers with the aid they have gathered. "We live in tearful moments," she added.

"In addition to Muslim communities, we receive tremendous donations from our Canadian friends who have never set foot in Türkiye," she said. "When we thank them, they say 'this is our debt to Türkiye.' You can see this even at the smallest individual or family level."

Meanwhile, a rescue 11-strong team from Canada saved a woman from the rubble in Adiyaman province 100 hours after the quake hit the country.

In the images from the rescue operation in Türkiye were used in the Canadian press, the Canadian and Turkish teams celebrated each other after they saved the woman.

On Wednesday, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan announced that the country will match donations to the Canadian Red Cross Earthquake in Türkiye and Syria Appeal.

"Every donation made by individuals to the Canadian Red Cross between Feb. 6 and 22, 2023, will be matched, up to a maximum of $10 million," said Global Affairs Canada, a government department that manages diplomatic relations, said in a statement.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Hatay, Gaziantep, Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in less than 10 hours.