Grief all over Turkey
Living in Istanbul, about 1,000 kilometres from the epicentre of the earthquake, Duong Nam Phuong is still shocked by the disaster that has killed nearly 24,000 people in Turkey and Syria (as of the morning of February 11).
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred in the early morning of February 6, shaking the border region of Turkey and Syria. It was the strongest earthquake in this area in nearly a century.
That morning, Mr. Phuong was astounded by images of collapsed buildings on all television news reports and newspapers. Although he has lived in Turkey for 14 years and has experienced a few earthquakes, of which the largest had a magnitude of 5.8, he still felt horrified when watching videos of collapsed buildings.
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| Collapsed buildings after the February 6 earthquake. (Photo: Ihlas News Agency/Reuters) |
“Previously, over the two years of 2019-2020, two consecutive earthquakes in Turkey killed more than 200 people. Therefore, when I learned that a magnitude 7.8 earthquake had occurred, followed by two subsequent tremors, I already anticipated the consequences of this disaster," Phuong said.
During the next 24 hours, the information continuously transmitted from the scene made everyone in Turkey, whether far or close to the epicentre, felt trembled. The number of deaths rose rapidly by the hour.
The family of Phuong’s sister-in-law was living in the affected area. When he heard the information, he immediately called them. They said that at about 4 am when they were sleeping, they felt a strong tremor. The whole family quickly dashed out of the house and waited for sunrise and fortunately no one was injured.
Not as lucky as them, a close friend of Phuong lost both his parents after the apartment building where they lived in the city of Hatay collapsed during the quake.
“The earthquake area is in the southeastern provinces, where most people work in agriculture, so the infrastructure is not as developed as Istanbul. In some places, there was rain and snow, making the rescue work even more difficult, "said Phuong.
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| Bad weather is hampering efforts to rescue people trapped under the rubble in Turkey and Syria. (Photo: Sercan Kucuksahin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) |
Nam Phuong, a Vietnamese bride living in Diyarbakir, told Nhan Dan Newspaper on the evening of February 10 that she still could not forget the terrible shaking when the earthquake happened.
It was about 4 am when Phuong was sleeping, she heard a very loud noise. Then the ground shook violently. Knowing that it was an earthquake, she only had time to carry her daughter in her arms and run out. The sounds of explosion and breakage continued to come from all around her. Fortunately, her building did not collapse.
From the city of Eskişehir, Vu Nam Phuong Anh experienced the disaster differently. Around 6 am on February 6 (Turkish time), she was woken up when her phone kept ringing. From the other end of the line, her father kept asking about her health, asking if the whole family was affected by the earthquake. Only at this time did she learn about the disaster that had just happened about 1,200 kilometres away from where she lived.
Quickly contacting a friend in Diyarbakır, which was greatly affected by the earthquake, she learned that her friend had just escaped from the danger zone.
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| Volunteers are preparing food for people in Hatay, Turkey on February 6, 2023. (Photo: Reuters) |
Because the Vietnamese community in Turkey has only about 150 people, right after the earthquake happened, everyone contacted one another to ask about their safety. Fortunately, until now, the Vietnamese community has not suffered any casualties from the earthquake.
“Over the past few days, people everywhere, whether they are Vietnamese or Turkish, are all in a gloomy atmosphere. All of them have temporarily put aside their work to look at the disaster area and see if they could be of any help. This is probably an earthquake that will go down in disaster history for all of humanity,” said Duong Nam Phuong, administrator of the Vietnamese Community group in Turkey.
Geçmiş Olsun Türkiye!
Only a few hours after the disaster, Duong Nam Phuong's heart burned like fire. After thinking for a long time, he decided to post a status on the largest community group of Vietnamese people in Turkey.
The call immediately received attention from the community. Not long after, about 10 Vietnamese in Turkey joined hands to donate winter clothes and necessities.
Clothes are classified into boxes according to age and gender. The outside of the box is marked with information to shorten the time of relief at the scene. "The weather in the epicentre areas is very cold, and people need clothes more than ever,” Phuong said.
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| Photo: The Vietnamese community in Turkey supports victims of the disaster area. (Photo: Bui Mai) |
Immediately after that, the boxes will be directly delivered to the donation venues, according to the regulations of the Turkish Government. The local government uses a very large warehouse, with about 4-5 freight trucks. In addition to the clothes, there was food, drink, a wood-burning fireplace and all the necessities.
Several companies and organisations continued to coordinate Phuong's team to support disaster victims.
“As of February 10, we continue to receive 50 boxes of ready-to-eat food from two companies in Turkey. There are also four boxes of adult winter clothing. All 54 boxes have been delivered to the Bakirkoy district government of Istanbul. After receiving, the Bakirkoy district government thanked all Vietnamese people for their support, as well as individuals and organisations towards the Turkish people," Phuong said.
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| Support boxes are packed and transported to relief venues. |
According to the administrator of the Vietnamese Community group, his group continues to receive many offers to help with blankets and clothes. "We will continue to deploy specific support next week.", Phuong said.
A special feature printed on each box is the national flags of Vietnam and Turkey, with the emotional words: "Geçmiş Olsun Türkiye! (Get well soon, Turkey).
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| Photo: Boxes are printed with the national flags of Vietnam and Turkey with the words: "Geçmiş Olsun Türkiye!". (Photo: Duong Nam Phuong) |
From within the country, many Vietnamese also want to send a little heart to the victims. La Thuc Trinh (Ho Chi Minh City) contacted relief groups in Istanbul to transfer a small amount of money.
“A lot of people like me. We just hope to contribute a little more warmth to Turkey in this difficult situation," Trinh shared.
In addition, on two consecutive days, February 9-10, the Vietnamese People's Public Security and People's Army also sent 100 soldiers to participate in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in Turkey.
These days, all over Turkey, people everywhere gather to collect donations and deliver necessities to the cities in the epicentre area.
"Geçmiş Olsun Türkiye!"
