Ethiopians hold aid campaign for Türkiye’s quake victims

By Tufan Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – Ethiopians’ launched an aid campaign and have raised 10 million Ethiopian birr ($186,320) for the victims affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes in southern Türkiye.

Despite being struck by civil war and drought where tens of thousands of lives were lost, the people in Ethiopia gathered forces and mobilized to help the quake-hit victims in Türkiye’s 11 provinces.

Since the first day, Ethiopians who went to Turkish representative offices in the country to convey condolences performed funeral prayers in absentia in mosques and prayed for the quake victims and Türkiye.

On Monday, a program was organized in the capital Addis Ababa for the aid campaign initiated by Türkiye's Addis Ababa Embassy.

The program participants included Turkish Ambassador to Addis Ababa Yaprak Alp, Ethiopian Federal Parliament Harar deputy and Ethiopia-Türkiye Friendship Group Chairman Fatih Wazir, TIKA Ethiopia Program Coordinator Cengiz Polat, and Ethiopian-Turkish Alumni Association President Fennan Mohammed, as well as philanthropists in the country.

During the program, donors presented symbolic donation checks to Ambassador Alp in Addis Ababa.

Alp said the Ethiopian government has been supporting Türkiye since the first day of the quake, sending thousands of blankets and tents, along with soldiers and professional search and rescue workers.

"Türkiye is facing an unprecedented disaster," Alp said, adding: "Türkiye is going through really difficult times, but it is precisely this kind of solidarity, of which we have seen a very good example today, that makes these difficult days bearable," she added.

Wazir said: "Türkiye is reaping the fruits of the seeds of love, compassion, and solidarity it has been sowing for years. I don't know which other country in the world could be the recipient of such an act of solidarity. I don't know if there is a country in the world that does not owe Türkiye a debt of loyalty. God bless Türkiye."

Mohammed, for his part, said that for the alumni, supporting Türkiye is not an option but an obligation.

"You can see the traces of Türkiye and Turkish NGOs in every inch of Ethiopia. It breaks our hearts when we see the superhuman efforts of these organizations not to leave the work they started here unfinished even in this earthquake disaster. No matter what we do, we cannot repay our debt to Türkiye," he added.

Polat said the Ethiopian people have been going through very difficult times in recent years, and noted: "Our tears have been mixed together since the first day of the quakes. It is impossible to describe with words the appreciation of our Ethiopian brothers and sisters towards Türkiye."

* Writing by Anna Cecilia Canatan.