The Vancouver Turkish community has come together to raise funds for survivors of the recent earthquake in Turkey. Local volunteers have organized several fundraising events, including a charity dinner, silent auction, and a donation drive. Donations will be used to support earthquake survivors, including providing food and shelter supplies and helping rebuild destroyed homes. The Turkish community in Vancouver is proud to join forces in support of the earthquake victims and their families.
VANCOUVER — Donations are pouring into a Vancouver warehouse for victims of Monday’s devastating earthquake in Turkey, but a volunteer organizer says the country could benefit most from professional search-and-rescue teams.
“The next 72 hours are crucial,” said Cansoy Gurocak, who was one of dozens of volunteers tending to donations of food, clothing, tents, sleeping bags, diapers and other goods at a fundraiser that was quickly coordinated by the Canadian Turkish Educational and Cultural Foundation.
Both Turkey and Syria were rocked by the massive quake on Monday, sparking international relief efforts that now include a $10 million pledge from the Canadian government and search and rescue teams flown in from the United States.
Gurocak, who has lived in Canada for 13 years, said he first heard the news from a phone call from his mother in Turkey shortly after the quake.
“She told me this was one of the strongest she’s ever experienced in her life,” he said. “I called my uncle. He said his house was destroyed. I called my aunt, same situation.”
He says he has hardly slept in the days since the quake.
Gurocak and other members of Vancouver’s Turkish community flocked to the warehouse in Vancouver’s industrial district on Tuesday to collect donations for victims of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that left more than 7,500 dead and cities in ruins.
He said he’s grateful to hear the Canadian government has committed to providing $10 million for relief efforts, but having professional search and rescue personnel on the ground would have a more immediate impact.
But, he said, after search and rescue efforts, the next critical step is building shelters for those displaced by the quake, then distributing donations of food and clothing, and only then would cash donations make a difference.
To rebuild in the hardest-hit areas like the cities of Islahiye and Pazarcik, Gurocak said, “it will take years, not days, not weeks, not months.”
But rescue efforts in smaller villages, Gurocak said, are made all the more difficult as road infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by the quake, while cold weather makes life even more miserable for survivors. “Right now, time is our enemy,” he said. “Even if someone survived the earthquake, he or she will die from the cold.”
At the Vancouver warehouse on Tuesday, Gurocak and other volunteers packed donated goods to be shipped every two days on a direct Turkish Airlines flight from Vancouver to Istanbul.
While Gurocak was physically in Vancouver during the quake and its aftermath, his thoughts remain with his friends and relatives in Turkey.
“If they have nowhere to go or have family members under the collapsed building, they have to stay because they hope they can survive and save the people,” he said.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on February 8, 2023.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
Don’t miss interesting posts on Famousbio
