The emotional impact of the earthquake in Turkey which has left over 20,000 people dead and destroyed the homes and businesses of thousands more has been felt all around the world. In Swansea, where there is a strong Turkish community, people have been rallying together to send donations and support to people-in-need in Turkey.
Hari Basuta, who runs the Turkish Kitchen on High Street, is from Istanbul and on hearing the news of the terrible earthquake, immediately wanted to do his bit to help people struggling in his home country. After putting a call-out on Facebook for donations, Hari set up a collection point at his popular restaurant and arranged for the items to be sent directly to communities in Turkey.
The Turkish business owner heard that people urgently needed things for their children, like baby food and nappies, and has been encouraging Swansea residents to donate as much as they can. In just a few days, Hari has received so many donations that he is looking for an additional storage space to keep the items being brought as the restaurant is getting full up.
Read more: Welsh Government commits six-figure sum to help earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria
Some of the donations were sent off in two lorries on Friday, February 10, ready to be transported to Turkey via Turkish airlines. Knowing the strength of his community, Hari, who has lived in Swansea for 23 years, was determined that the people in his area could help him make a positive impact.
He said: “It’s amazing how people have got involved to bring things over to us. We have been absolutely overwhelmed at the support and donations. Alone we could have done so little but together as a community we have achieved so much and through working together as a strong community in Swansea - and having a shared goal and a common purpose - has resulted in making the almost impossible possible.
“We didn’t want to ask people to bring money because we weren’t sure how it would end up being used but we know these items will be helpful, and we’re going to make sure they go to the right place.”
Hari himself is feeling the impact the earthquake has had, as he has been sick with worry over his friends and family’s wellbeing. Although he has not lost anyone to the earthquake, he has family all over Turkey who have all had their lives turned upside down after the event.
He added: “These are human beings and it’s unacceptable for anyone in any country to have to deal with this. There’s 15 million people. That’s huge, and there is not enough help there right now.”
Alongside Hari, another person who has felt the effects emotionally from the earthquake is Filiz Celik, who is a tutor of Psychology in the School of Psychology at Swansea University and was born in Turkey. Although she has managed to get in touch with her family to check that they are all ok, she has been told that one of her friends is still lost in the rubble.
Dr Filiz Celik said: "There's no machinery to go and pull the rubble out. He is there and there are other people under the rubble where he is and there isn't even a rescue team nearby to where he is, we have been told.
"It is harrowing. I have friends and family members in every single city that has been affected. And my social media at the moment is just full of posts about the different tragedies that have unfolded there right now."
Despite being hundreds of miles away, Filiz felt a responsibility to help however she could, and set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe which has now raised £3,000 and counting for Meydan Cemevi- a community centre supporting people at the heart of the disaster. Filiz's father who lives in Adna, was one of the cities badly affected and has been at the forefront trying to support people at the centre.
She said: "My Dad rang me from Meydan Cemevi after the second earthquake hit, and people had started flooding into there as their houses were destroyed. They were trying to provide them with hot food and water but it takes some time for aid to reach people if you donate directly to a larger charity so I thought that if I can raise some money to send in directly to the community centre to support people in that first instance then it would be helpful.
"Before doing that I rang my mum who is there and said- donate all my clothes. I have clothes there still which can be donated but that is not enough, and that's why I set up the fundraiser."
Filiz is planning on running the fundraiser for a few more days to raise as much as possible. But after that she is intending to get the money to the community centre as quickly as possible.
Discussing the shock of the event, she added: "It is mortifying. It is terrible. I don't think there are any words to describe how any of us are feeling because Turkey is an earthquake country, and we were expecting a big earthquake to happen which happens roughly every 10 years.
"But usually it hits the centre and affects one or two surrounding areas but this has affected 10 cities and surrounding areas so all these towns and villages. Turkey is not disaster prepared but if even if it was there's no way they could cope with the effects of something like that.
"The rescuers are working to excavate to get people out dead or alive because the families need to be able to have some form of burial if they can and know exactly what has happened to their loved ones to help them deal with the psychological distress. But in the meantime they are also help the people who survived alive.
"There are no tents, some people moved into their relatives houses where they can but for thousands of people this has not been possible. They're out there with no food and they're desperate for bottles for their babies, there's no electricity, they can't charge their phones to contact the outside world.
Plus, a barber shop owner from Turkey has also been doing his bit to help. Serge, who runs Serge's Turkish Barbers has raised over £1,000 on his GoFundMe page to support the people of Turkey.
The natural disaster has hit him hard, after initially thinking his family who are still based in Turkey had died after the earthquake. Serge said: "Many people don't know where there loved ones are right now- there's no signal or anything.
"When it happened, my father called me at about 4am in the morning but my phone was silent. When I woke up it was already too late because there was no signal.
"I was trying to reach them but couldn't get through. I can't explain how I felt because I saw the news and what was going on there- I was really, really worried about them and thought something had happened to them.
"It wasn't just one city, or one place. It's ten cities and the buildings there are like six stories, or ten stories and so many of them had just collapsed."
And hearing about what has happened from his friends and family there, Serge noted that seeing the aftermath of the earthquake has been almost unbearable for them. He said: "Some people have told me they'd rather die in the earthquake than see this, and go through this heartbreak because they can't do anything about it.
"To be honest, if I could go there right now to be with them to help, I would."
Wales as a whole has also been coming together in different corners of the country to make a difference. The Disasters Emergency Committee's Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal has now raised over £32.9 million in the first day, including £1.2 million in Wales as the death toll passed 20,000.
Saleh Saeed, Chief Executive of the DEC, said: “I am tremendously grateful to all the people who have already donated to the DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal. The stories we are now hearing from the survivors who have managed to escape the ruins of flattened and crumpled buildings without shoes and coats in the depths of winter are desperately sad.
“It is hard to grasp what they and their families are going through. But what we do know is that help is already being delivered by 14 of our member charities using funds donated to the DEC. They are providing hot meals, blankets, and medical aid."
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