Friends of a Turkish man living in North Belfast have come together to support him as he mourns the loss of close family members in the Turkey-Syria earthquake.
Mustafa Gunay, 48, from Ballysillan lost his sister, her husband and their three children when the earthquake hit their home city of Antakya in Hatay province in the early hours of Monday 6 February.
The historic city in southern Turkey was among the places most ravaged by the earthquakes that struck the country and Syria. Once home to nearly 400,000 people, Antakya has since become a ghost city.
Read more: NI businesswoman starts fundraising appeal for Turkey-Syria earthquake victims
The number of people killed by the earthquakes earlier this month has now passed 50,000, according to the latest figures from both countries.
This has been a devastating time for Mustafa, who just three months ago lost his father to illness, just weeks after the sudden death of his ex-wife. Mustafa, who also has a 15-year-old son, has lived in Northern Ireland for the past 17 years.
He told Belfast Live: "It has just been a horrible time these past few months. My mum took ill a few months ago so that was the last time I was in Turkey to see her in hospital. She was so worried for my son, her grandson, after he lost his mum and the stress of that made her ill.
"A couple of weeks later in November my dad passed away and I did see him when I was over visiting my mum but I couldn't get back to Turkey in time for his funeral."
Now following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, Mustafa has also lost his sister, Serpil, 39, and her family.
"After the earthquakes, we didn't hear anything from my sister for a week until she was taken out of her home along with her husband, their three daughters and her brother-in-law," he explained.
"It took my two brothers eight days to get them out and unfortunately they had all passed away. Serpil's son wasn't in the house at the time so his life was saved. Since then I've been trying to help them by sending over some money and working overtime but it's not enough."
In Turkey alone, 44,218 people died as a result of the earthquakes, the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said on Friday, while the latest announced death toll in Syria was 5,914. There have been no reports of survivors being rescued in recent days.
Those living in the quake-hit provinces in Turkey have been forced to take shelter in temporary shelters or hotels and public facilities or have been settled in tents, container homes and other government-sponsored accommodation.
A fundraiser has now been set up to support Mustafa's surviving family members as they try to rebuild their lives hundreds of miles away in Izmit in the north of the country.
It has been organised by his friend and work colleague, Stephen McClenaghan, who works with him at Dunmurry-based car components maker, Linamar.
Stephen said: "I am trying to raise funds for Mustafa to send home to his family. He is trying his hardest out of his own personal wage to send most of his money home to his family, leaving himself with little to nothing left.
"He is working a serious amount of hours overtime to try and come up with the money to send home to his family who have nothing - no clothes, no food, no home and no support from anyone. They also have no jobs to go to because the whole of the country has been affected.
"This contribution will go towards his remaining family to try and rebuild some sort of life of anything that is left there for them. This man and his family are going through a terrible time and need some help so we're trying to raise as much as possible to help Mustafa and his family."
Please follow this link to donate to the fundraiser.
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