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How London’s Syrian and Turkish communities are helping earthquake victims from afar
A mournful quiet prevailed in the Turkish communities of London this week after one of the deadliest earthquakes in recent years hit Southern Turkey and Northern Syria, killing nearly 12,000 people.
The death toll keeps rising and World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said operations aiming to rescue further survivors are now facing “a race against time”.
“Every minute, every hour that passes, the chances of finding survivors alive diminish,” he said, grimly.
Many Londoners have lost friends and relatives, with some still waiting to hear if their loved ones are alive.
But behind the scenes, Londoners were also leaping into action. Turkish and Syrian community groups wasted no time in offering their help, launching fundraisers, mobilising volunteers, and appealing for donations of clothes, food and heaters (areas affected by the earthquake are around 2 degrees celsius right now, unseasonably cold, and facing storms and snowfall).
Here is everything the resilient Turkish and Syrian communities have been doing for their home countries, despite the 2,400-mile distance.
West London Turkish Volunteers
The Hounslow-based charity received so many donations of clothes and emergency items it had to stop accepting them yesterday as they try to deal with the mass of bags and boxes. WLTV is using Turkish Airlines, which has helped to evacuate thousands from the area and is planning to evacuate 30,000 more, to transport the clothes to areas affected by the earthquake free of charge.
However, it is still in dire need of volunteers to help to deal with donations.
“We are in big need of more helping hands and volunteers at our centre ASAP to help out with sorting, boxing, handling clothes donations,” a post on its Facebook page reads.
If you want to help but can’t get down to Hounslow, WLTV also has its own fundraiser page for monetary donations here.
Aziziye Mosque
Over in Stoke Newington, volunteers at the Aziziye Mosque are raising funds for the Turkish Red Crescent. This is Turkey’s biggest humanitarian organisation, which is distributing food and medical aid in the affected regions.
The mosque is also taking donations and on February 6, it declared it was most in need of heaters, blankets, bedding sets, pillows, dry food, hygiene kits, feminine hygiene kits, clean baby clothes, sleeping bags, winter boots and winter clothing such as scarves, beanies and gloves.
Videos on the Aziziye Mosque’s social media show volunteers handling boxes upon boxes of medicine, toilet rolls, baby formula and second-hand clothes.
But unlike many communities which have been inundated with donations, they don’t seem to be full yet — so get down there with some helpful items if you can.
Harringay’s finest Turkish restaurants
Down the road in Haringey, the famous Turkish eateries of Green Lanes have pledged to donate their takings to the earthquake disaster relief funds.
Green Lanes giant Gokyuzu is giving away all of its profits from meals sold this Thursday (February 9). You can go out for dinner tomorrow and feel good, therefore, given that it’s all for a good cause.
Neighbouring restaurant Selale and Turkish patisserie Antepzade are also getting involved, in case you wanted an apertivo, or perhaps a pudding after your main meal.
Day-mer
Day-mer, the Turkish and Kurdish community centre in Hackney, is also appealing for donations.
“We will send any aid and/or donations that reach our community centre here in London directly to those affected by the earthquake, through campaigns by socialist and democratic institutions and organisations in Turkey,” it says on its socials. “It is paramount that the aid reach those in need without any bureaucratic obstacles.
“Previous experiences taught us that help through trusted organisations on the ground ensures the delivery of help to those in most need.”
Members of the centre’s youth club have raised £578 by collecting change in the shops and train stations’ exits.
University bake sales
Students at University College London (UCL) and the London School of Economics and Political Science’s (LSE) Turkish societies clubbed together with the British Red Cross to run bake sales this week.
The UCL volunteers raised £4,600 in a single day, which encouraged them to extend the sale for another day to try to maximise donations.
Speaking to The London Tab, Eda, the president of UCL’s Turkish society, said: “As a Turkish person, I don’t think I have ever woken up to a worse day than this. The whole nation is so desperate, and we feel so helpless that we can’t do anything about it.
“We need help. We need solidarity. I don’t think we’ll ever recover from this crisis. It’s just heartbreaking.”
Many other London universities have launched their own donation drives, encouraging students to give what they can.
Helpful Haringey residents
In north London’s Turkish hotspot, a Haringey resident has helped to raise more than £1,000 for her home city after she launched a GoFundMe. Selin Dogan, who is from Hatay, in the southern-most province of Turkey, said that her family were among the thousands to have lost their homes.
In a Nextdoor post asking for donations, she added: “Situations have gotten worse in Hatay, not only the earthquake [but a] massive dock is on fire with no fire brigade to help and the city is flooded due to the sea. Please everyone donate to the link attached [...] I am directly sending it to my city for them to make warm food in community centres and give out tents/sleeping bags. Thank you.”
Luton’s Turkish community
Luton, another area of London with a thriving Turkish population, has also seen a wave of support in recent days.
The Luton Turkish Education & Culture Trust is yet another charity which has received more donations than it can take. It has now sent them off to help those in need. It has also sent messages approving the giving of “Zakat”, the Muslim custom which decrees that part of your wealth should be given to charity (usually around 2.5 per cent), to the earthquake relief funds.
Elsewhere in Luton, Atilla Ustun, a spokesman for the British Turkish Association, told PA “all communities” in London had been “emotional”.
Mr Ustun, who is a chairman of the Luton-Turkish Community Association, helped to load a Turkish Airlines cargo plane at Heathrow Airport with more than 300 boxes of donated clothing, medical supplies and aid for babies.
“All the communities in Luton and around have swarmed to donate [...],” he said. “Just locally, in Luton itself, we’ve raised around £20,000, but we know that in general, I think in London it’s now between £200,000 and 300,000.”
