A Cardiff barber who has lost family members in the Turkey-Syria earthquake has helped to send over 50 bags of urgently-needed clothes to victims of the disaster. Mehmet Zengin, owner of Mehmet's Barber in Birchgrove, put a call-out on social media for donations of clothes and blankets to send out to Turkey via a convoy of lorries.
Turkey and neighbouring Syria were struck by a huge 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday, February 6. At the time of writing, the death toll is nearing 44,000 and Turkish authorities say that over 38,000 people have been killed in the country.
Mehmet has lost multiple members of his family to the devastating natural disaster, all of whom died in Adiyaman, a city of 300,000 people that has suffered extensive damage. Mehmet's cousin and his cousin's wife and child were all killed in the disaster.
READ MORE: The Welsh Turkish community fundraising to help victims of the earthquake
"Day by day, more family members are dying. My mother-in-law lost her cousin. My other cousin lost her mum's side. Every day, really bad news comes for us," Mehmet said. "It's so sad. We can't do anything, we are living in Wales."
But Mehmet and his family and friends are doing what they can to help the victims of the earthquake. Along with his wife and friends, Mehmet collected donations at his barber shop and on Sunday they were taken to the central collecting point in Newport. Ten trucks full of clothes, food, hygiene products, and blankets have since made their way to Turkey, travelling through Europe.
Over 50 bags were collected as a results of donations, Mehmet said, adding that he is thankful to those who responded to his call-out and donated clothes and other much-needed items to the shop. "The Welsh people always say 'together, stronger', that's why all my clients and friends have come together, stronger," he said.
"I just appreciate the Welsh people helping us. We have collected clothes, because it is very cold out there in the winters and they need warm clothes," Mehmet said. Currently, the temperatures in Adiyaman are falling below zero at night and, with much of the country's infrastructure destroyed, food and shelter is in short supply.
On Thursday night, Mehmet says he received news that another quake had been felt in the area where his family lives. "My father-in-law, my brother-in-law, my sister-in-law, my aunty - they all ran out from their houses," he said. "People are scared every day. I just checked the news earlier - 38,000 people killed. It's so sad."
The Welsh Government has donated £300,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Türkiye and Syria Earthquake Appeal which was launched a few days after the disaster on February 9. Mehmet said he is grateful for the Welsh Government's contribution: "I want to say a million thanks to the Welsh people," he said.
Thanking people for their donations on social media, Mehmet said: "Thank you to everyone who have taken time to donate clothes, toiletries and money this week to help the people of my country. I will never forget the kindness the people of Cardiff have shown me and my family.
"I cannot accept anymore donations at this time because they have stopped the transit of donations going into Turkey. Thank you and god bless to everyone, we will get through this."
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