‘Now is my time to repay:’ International scholars in Türkiye join post-quake operations

‘Now is my time to repay:’ International scholars in Türkiye join post-quake operations

Türkiye’s current international students, graduates join efforts to help people affected by recent strong earthquakes

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL / ADANA, Türkiye (AA) – Syafiq Mardi, 29, has just finished his meeting with friends in Singapore on a sunny Sunday.

The group decided to finalize target of food packets to be shipped to Türkiye, as Ramadan, a holy fasting month for Muslims, is just weeks away.

“But this is short term and in coming days, we are working on sustainable donation to be part of rebuilding Türkiye,” Mardi told Anadolu from Singapore.

A graduate of Cukurova University in the southern Adana province, Mardi first landed in Türkiye back in 2013 for studies.

After studying Islamic theology, art and history, he graduated last year under Türkiye Scholarships, a government-funded higher education scholarship program run by Türkiye’s Presidency of Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB).

Back home, Mardi is involved in volunteer work to ship relief, in cash and kind, for earthquake-hit people in Türkiye.

As part of Be Kind Project, a local Singaporean organization, “we collected more than $20,000 in just one week besides other necessary items including food, clothes,” Mardi said.

“Now we are working on a long-time project like in education and social building activities,” he said, adding: “Now is my time to repay kindness of Türkiye. It is in a sense of gratitude to pay back to Turkish society.”

Türkiye provides necessary funding, facility for stay and other activities to international students for studies ranging from high school to post-doctoral degrees.

Many of these international students are funded by the YTB. Currently, there are more than 170,000 international students pursuing various degrees in the country.

Soon after the twin earthquakes struck southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, many international students jumped into search, rescue and relief operations.

The death toll from the massive tremors has climbed to 44,374, according to the latest official figures. Thousands of others have been injured.

Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said the quakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, have been followed by 9,136 aftershocks so far.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors struck 10 other southern and southeastern provinces including Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. Some 13.5 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.


- ‘Can’t resist helping affected people’

From the Turkish capital Ankara, Sherhan Upahm Abas, 27, joined a group to help people in the quake-hit region.

A native of Bangsamoro, southern Muslim-majority autonomous region of the Philippines, Abas, along with the group which consisted of students from Malaysia, Bangsamoro, Indonesia, and a Rohingya, travelled to Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep.

“Whenever we are in need, Türkiye is always there for us,” said Abas, who is studying master’s in information system at Ankara’s Gazi University.

“It is not just about religion, we are brothers, we have to help each other,” he stressed, recalling “sad situation” from ground zero of Türkiye quakes.

Abas said: “I don’t think anyone can resist helping these quake-affected people.”

Led by Yilmaz Balcin of Türkiye-based International Youth Forum, the group distributed blankets, food parcels, shoes, solar panels, and jackets among quake-affected people.


- ‘Türkiye has provided us education which is very important for my community’

Aung Naing Shwe, 31, has not visited his family, victim of Myanmar’s persecution of Rohingya, since he landed in Türkiye in 2018.

A PhD candidate at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Shwe told Anadolu that he helped the quakes-affected people in psychosociological needs.

“I visited camps and talked to quake-affected people, who needed psychosocial support,” said Shwe, who has worked for four years as a psychological counselor.

“Türkiye is supporting people everywhere around the world, especially our Rohingya community in every aspect … be it medical or education,” Shwe said, as he recalled support extended by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), a state-run development aid agency, and AFAD to Rohingya community living in Bangladesh.

“It has been very effective for our people,” he said, adding: “Providing education to us is everything for a community like ours.”

Shwe, a YTB scholar, said quake-affected people need psychosocial support because some lost parents, some their home and properties.

“This is a traumatic event and we need to reduce such kind of trauma from their minds,” he said.


- ‘Even with small contributions, we want to be with Turkish people’

A popular social media influencer, Musaib Afzal, is a fresh YTB graduate who has returned home in Indian-administered Kashmir.

He is busy organizing and helping individuals and organizations in the Himalayan region by shipping relief to Türkiye.

Recalling an emotional incident from Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, Musaib told Anadolu: “A vendor said he did not have enough cash to give.

“This is all I have, the baby caps, please send them soon to Türkiye,” Afzal quoted the vendor as saying.

“We people want to be there with Turkish people (in times of need) even with our small contributions,” said Afzal, who has gained thousands of social media followers for his digital content spreading awareness about educational, cultural and other opportunities provided in Türkiye.

A graduate of Islamic sciences from Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Afzal recalled time he spent volunteering with different student and civil society organizations in Türkiye’s Black Sea province of Rize.

Working with local civil society organizations and students’ groups helped him understand Turkish culture well, he acknowledged.

“It helped me develop deep communication with local Turkish people and see their love toward Muslims from other parts of the world.

“They are always there for us, anywhere in the world,” said Afzal, referring to Türkiye’s humanitarian organizations including the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH).

In Kashmir, he guided people and organizations to contact the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi, India’s capital.

“Lots of people sent support in kind and cash,” he said.

On his digital work, Afzal said: “I can clearly see people recognizing my little efforts on social media where I have become a bridge to connect people who face problem of language barrier besides other issues.

“It has helped us, here in Kashmir, in Türkiye’s post-quake relief operations.”


- Iraqi students contribute in cash and kind

Amjad Yasir led a group of international students from Iraq to Kahramanmaras and Hatay.

“We have founded an all-Iraqi student organization in Türkiye to assist earthquake-affected people,” Jawdat told Anadolu.

He said the group of around 50 students works in coordination with organizations “back home (which) send us material and help us raise funds.”

“We drove to Kahramanmaras and Hatay to hand out humanitarian aid. Iraqi students made large amount of cash donation to the Turkish Red Crescent as well as to AFAD, and provided aid to more than 1,000 families,” said Yasir, adding the group’s humanitarian work was coordinated by Istanbul-based youth board of Union of NGOs of the Islamic World.

The Iraqi group is also procuring around 1,000 tents which will be distributed to quake-affected people in Kahramanmaras.

Ayodele Akin-Adamu, who studies structural engineering at Dokuz Eylul University in the Aegean coast city of Izmir, joined a group of students to help with packaging and distribution of food in Kilis.

Besides witnessing the situation on the ground himself, Ayodele told Anadolu that his trip to Kilis helped him “understand impact of the earthquake firsthand.”

Studies of Ayodele, a native of Nigeria, are supported by the YTB.

“I left Izmir for Kilis because I wanted to help the people which were affected by the earthquake in whatsoever capacity I have,” he told Anadolu while his friend Rizwan uz Zaman from Kashmir was distributing food packages among the quake-hit people.

The duo has joined the Istanbul-based IHH which runs one of the biggest relief centers in the province, close to the border with Syria.

Ayodele said working experience with the IHH enabled the international students to “see how they operate, … , prepare food, provide temporary shelter, clothing, and other essential items” to quake-affected people.

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