Haringey community continues to send aid to Turkey and Syria

55,700 deaths have been confirmed with many more still missing

Credit European Union, photographer Lisa Hastert

Haringey-based community centres and charities are continuing to appeal for aid to Syria and Turkey, after a major earthquake struck Turkey and western Syria in February.

On Monday, 6th February at 4.17am, an earthquake originated in Gaziantep in south-central Turkey, becoming the largest earthquake in Turkey since the 1939 Erzican earthquake. 55,700 deaths have been confirmed across both Turkey and Syria.

Community organisations in Haringey rushed to take immediate action in the days following the quake, though they are now urging that more still needs to be done to support survivors in its aftermath.

Haringey Giving, an independent partnership which provides small grants to projects which address an urgent need, is supporting three organisations which are raising funds for Turkey and Syria: Roj Women Association, a not-for-profit charity aiming to empower Kurdish, Turkish, Cypriot Turkish, migrant, and refugee women living in London, Gik-Der, an organisation founded by refugees from Turkey and Kurdistan, and Day-Mer, a Turkish and Kurdish community centre in Haringey.

Roj Women project coordinator Cigdem Kara said: “Since the first day of the earthquake, we have been supporting our local community members and organizations providing help on the ground.

“In the earthquakes which devastated Southeastern Turkey and Northern Syria, we lost ten[s of] thousands of people and millions have been left homeless, jobless and now trying to survive.”

Cigdem adds that another earthquake struck on Monday, 20th February at 8pm. “Survivors of those devastating earthquakes lack tents, food, water and sanitary facilities and the government has avoided taking responsibility for the destruction and losses,” she said.

“Therefore, funding organized by charities and trustworthy organizations are much needed and will directly reach the victims in the cities affected by this disaster. As Roj Women’s Association, we have been in contact with women organizations, providing support on the ground, working in Turkey and Syria for many years. As desperate recovery efforts continue, we need your support to deliver urgent emergency aid to those affected by the earthquakes. Solidarity saves lives”

Taylan Sahbaz, centre coordinator at Day-Mer, said: “We believe that supporting communities affected by the earthquake is still very much an urgent need as its impact is only but unfolding; these include the very urgent health, medicine, and safety needs of communities in the region as well as the needs of millions of people who have been displaced. The earthquake also underlined an important set of issues in relation to disaster preparedness, urban planning, environment and inequality – these are very British issues too! Support for the earthquake is supporting our societies and planet!”

Cllr Peray Ahmet, leader of Haringey Council, met with representatives from local Turkish and Kurdish communities and MPs on Friday, 10th February. “I heard first-hand about the incredible ways in which the community is working around the clock to support those most closely affected and to organise support for the relief effort,” she stated.

“The response from across Haringey has been immense, in fact so much so that the organisation has asked that residents do not seek to make further donations of clothes, blankets or bedding as they do not have the capacity to sort, store or ship anything further.

“Instead, the community were clear that where residents are able to make financial contributions that was currently the best way to help.

“It was also really important that we were joined at the meeting by Catherine West MP and Feryal Clark MP to hear about the efforts being made in Parliament to ensure that our national response is as swift and effective as it can be.

“We are grateful for their efforts and leadership, and we will work closely with them as the situation develops over the weeks and indeed months to come.

“We also talked at the meeting about the need to support our communities here who are experiencing shock, fear and grief as events unfold before our eyes. We will work with the NHS and our schools to ensure that the appropriate emotional support is available for our residents including our children and young people.

“We will be establishing a co-ordinating group, drawn from attendees at today’s meeting, who we will work with to steer our work as the situation develops.”

Following this meeting, Peray Ahmet has been among the local politicians calling on the government to offer visa extensions for Turkish and Syrian nationals on compassionate grounds.

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.