For the third week since Feb. 6, the international community has upheld its solidarity for the victims of the devastating earthquakes that left more than 44,000 people dead in southeastern Türkiye and at least 5,800 in northwestern Syria.
Institutions and volunteers across the United States, Greece, Britain, Peru and many others kept mobilizing humanitarian aid and relief to help heal wounds in 11 Turkish cities struck by 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude tremors earlier this month, pouring personnel, medical equipment, food, tents, supplies and donations to the disaster zone.
Indeed, 130,785 tents, 1,168 containers and 1,676 mobile hygiene units have been deployed in the region while some 28 countries set up 30 field hospitals, the latest figures from the Turkish Foreign Ministry revealed Monday. While 10 of these nations have returned home, 20 of the field hospitals are reportedly still active.
Some 1,602,270 blankets, 226,451 sleeping bags, 83,844 beds, 29,266 generators, 6,312 tons of clothes, 3,476 tons of hygienic medical materials and 5,981 tons of food have been delivered to the victims, the ministry informed.
Adding to the donations it has made and rescue crews it has dispatched so far, the U.S. has also started building a 100-bed field hospital in the southern Hatay province, according to an official.
The field hospital is set to be run by 34 personnel from the U.S. Air and Naval Forces in the compound of Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Hospital in the Antakya district and feature an intensive care unit and an operating room, Stephen Allen, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Disaster Response Team (DART), told reporters Sunday.
USAID deployed a search and rescue team consisting of 160 people and dogs to Adıyaman province in coordination with Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), as well as relief supplies to people in need, along with funds to organizations trying to respond to the earthquake victims upon the request of the Turkish government, Allen informed.
The crews also work in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense units to respond more effectively, he added.
"I really want to thank you for the hospitality that you have shown to us and all of the generosity," he said.
More support arrived from neighboring Greece over the weekend as a social solidarity team made land in the Bodrum district of western Muğla province bearing boxes of aid materials for the disaster victims.
The team, called "Oallosanthropos - Humanitarian Aid," which is affiliated with a Greek Red Cross delegation, disembarked from the ferry at Bodrum Cruise Port and was transported to a pickup truck by volunteers from the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) and municipality personnel to deliver their cargo to Hatay.
Bodrum Deputy Mayor Ummahan Yurt welcomed the crew's leader Konstantinos Polychronopoulos and his entourage with flowers.
Polychronopoulos assured his country will continue to help people in the earthquake area.
Also on Sunday, a Turkish mosque in North London held a fundraising event for the earthquake victims.
The fundraiser, organized by the Aziziye Mosque in Stoke Newington, sold a variety of traditional homemade Turkish food and desserts.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Ebu Bekir Tezgel, the chief imam at the mosque, said proceeds from the event will be donated to quake victims in Türkiye.
"Every year we organize events like this, but this is specifically for earthquake victims," he said.
Tezgel also noted that so far they have sent a total of 43,000 pounds (over $51,000) and 50,000 tons of clothes and food to victims as part of the mosque's charity campaigns.
"May Allah accept the good of all our philanthropist brothers and sisters," he said.
Another horde of aid materials departed from South America for the disaster zone on Sunday.
Some 9.5 tons of materials including heaters, sleeping bags, winter clothes and 3,958 blankets collected by Turkish nationals and people of Peru have set out for Türkiye, despite the 12,000 kilometers (some 7,500 miles) between the two countries, diplomatic sources said.
Due to the unavailability of a direct air route from Peru to Türkiye, Peruvian carrier LAS will bring the cargo to the Colombian capital Bogota where Turkish Airlines will pick it up for delivery, Türkiye’s Embassy in Lima said.
Jordan, too, dispatched additional humanitarian aid for the victims in both Türkiye and neighboring Syria, a Foreign Ministry statement said on Sunday.
Seven trucks loaded with aid from the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization crossed the Jaber-Nassib border crossing into Syria, the statement read.
“The aid comes in implementation of the royal directives to help those affected by the earthquakes in both Syria and Türkiye.”
Since the disaster struck, Jordan has sent 13 relief aid planes, 82 aid trucks and 10 ambulances, in addition to an air bridge to transport 10,000 tents for the quake victims in both countries.
Meanwhile in Austria, a donation campaign raised 433,927 euros ($458,187.86) for 100 containers that will be used to found an “Austrian neighborhood” in the Kahramanmaraş district of Elbistan.
The program, broadcast live on several television channels and social media platforms, was organized as a joint effort of 23 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in coordination with AFAD, Türkiye’s ambassador to Vienna said Sunday.
“Each donation is extremely precious for us,” Ozan Ceyhun said and thanked everyone who chipped in.
Various universities, educational institutions and foundations in Sudan, too, have mobilized to launch a donation campaign for Türkiye and Syria.
Sudanese students are pioneering the “Window of Hope” initiative with the sincerity that Muslim people must stand by one another during hard times, said Bashir Nuruddaim, the dean of Nahda University, which is hosting the campaign.
“Our hearts and prayers are with you; You’re not alone,” the students’ posters read.
Türkiye’s Ambassador to Khartoum Ismail Çobanoğlu also thanked the Sudanese government for the rescuers they sent after the deadly earthquakes and the campaign’s organizers.
“The support and solidarity of our Sudanese brothers and sisters have kept us upright. They cried with us, they rejoiced with us. Our embassy was bustling with people who offered us the rings on their hands to help,” Çobanoğlu recalled.
“All of these activities are incredibly valuable to us. Türkiye will never forget your support in our time of need.”
