Greece’s Turkish minority community launches aid drive for quake-hit Türkiye

Greece’s Turkish minority community launches aid drive for quake-hit Türkiye

People in multiple regions of Western Thrace collecting necessary supplies for victims in disaster zone

By Ayhan Mehmet

GUMULCINE, Greece (AA) – Greece’s 150,000-strong Turkish minority community has launched a collection drive to help people in quake-hit Türkiye.

The campaign, which started simultaneously in multiple regions of Western Thrace and will continue till Sunday, aims to collect relief materials including blankets, hygiene products, diapers, and winter clothes.

The organizer, Eren Ismail, who lives in Yahyabeyli village, near the city of Komotini (Gumulcine in Turkish) said the aid campaign has drawn great interest.

“The small campaign that I led gathered impetus with the help of various associations. I'm proud that one of our trucks is being loaded and getting ready to be delivered to Türkiye,” Ismail told Anadolu.

English teacher Kubra Cavus Mehmet, a volunteer for the same drive, said they are saddened by the devastation caused by the earthquakes and want to contribute.

“We want you [Türkiye] to know that here in Western Thrace you are always in our minds," said pharmacy student Zehra Ibrahim, another volunteer.

Hasan Huseyin, a imam in the nearby village of Basirlikoy, said they began to act as soon as they heard southern Türkiye was hit by the deadly earthquakes.

“The earthquakes that affected our homeland Türkiye also affect us very much. We felt very sorry. We wish God’s mercy to the ones who lost their lives, and patience to loved ones of the victims in the tragedy,” he added.

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

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

​​​​​​​* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk and Anna Cecilia Canatan

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