Türkiye launches post-quake 'We Stand with Türkiye' campaign to maintain global solidarity

By Mumin Altas

ANKARA (AA) — Türkiye launched an international solidarity campaign to help the victims of last month's massive earthquakes in the south of the country, its Directorate of Communications said on Sunday.

The "We Stand with Türkiye" campaign was launched in 18 countries to maintain the global solidarity that surged after Feb. 6 quakes, the directorate said in a statement.

Emphasizing the importance of solidarity shown towards Türkiye in the form of search and rescue teams, health personnel, and messages of support, the campaign was launched in the US, the UK, France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Hungary, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan.

Informative content about the disaster, along with scientific data and the work carried out immediately in its aftermath were also published in English on the website westandwithturkiye.com and in Turkish on seninleyizturkiye.com, as part of the campaign.

Video messages of support for Türkiye by well-known figures, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, famous actors Morgan Freeman, Aamir Khan, Reshat Strik, singer Jamala, Yasmin Levy, Della Miles, and athlete Matwe Middelkoop are also on the websites.

"The spirit of unity and solidarity that emerged with the disaster in our country has not only resonated at the national level, but also at the international level, and the solidarity of the century was put forth after the disaster of the century," said Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun.

"Countries that joined each other upon a common pain have demonstrated the importance of collective responsibility, cooperation, and international solidarity in the face of global crises. From here, we remind once again the importance of acting with a common mind and conscience and international cooperation for the establishment of stability, peace, and prosperity, not only in crisis, but also in our region and throughout the world, and we hope that no country will experience similar pains," he added.

On Feb. 6, the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 provinces — Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the devastating quakes, as well as many others in northern Syria.

The country's Vice President Fuat Oktay on Saturday said that the death toll had risen to over 49,500, including more than 6,800 foreign nationals.