From Turkey

Peter Schless moved to Turkey seven?months ago, a country that was profoundly different to his native Germany. As “a foreigner in a foreign country” Peter felt instantly accepted by the Turkish people, who are incredibly friendly and welcoming. After just a few months, Peter felt a part of the country and community very much, so it made a strong personal impact on him to see his new countrymen suffer so extremely.??

“Three months ago, I was in a big tower, and an earthquake close to?6 on the Richter Scale hit us. The whole building shook, objects fell out of cupboards... This was my?first experience of an earthquake, and it was terrifying.”?

Just weeks later, the devastating earthquake dominating news channels hit within 1000 Km of Peter’s location. Many people close to Peter have lost loved ones. ?

“Buses full of people who have lost everything drive past the office all day. These people have lost children, parents, brothers, sisters...They don’t have much as?a toothbrush left,” Peter says. “Usually, when you see things like this on television, it is dramatised?and looks worse than it is, but in this case the opposite is true: The reality is even sadder than the news broadcasts,” he continues.??

Peter describes the scene as looking?“like an atom bomb has flattened entire cities. There are mountains of rubble, people crying and shouting names... It is really terrible.”?

Peter says that whilst authorities are doing what they can, social programs are not as advanced in Turkey as in some?other countries. Local communities are strongly connected, and people rely on each other’s help. ?

“There are 20 million people in the affected area, and some of the cities that have been destroyed are very big. The number of people suffering from this disaster is huge.”??

Peter and his colleagues are trying to do their part by buying aid materials, going directly to the?area to help, transporting materials into the disaster zone and trying to spread the word that help is desperately required.?Peter is also trying to import containers with tiny pre-fabricated houses to help with temporary accommodation. ?

“500,000 people will probably be homeless.?These are normal people, just like us.”?

When asked what we could do to help, Peter responded that it is probably best to leave direct aid efforts to people on the ground. Some organisations, such as Ahbap , are 100% non-profit and all the money donated reaches the people in need.?Ahbap?was set up by a Turkish singer to help people in need and is now directly providing aid to the Turkish earthquake victims.?Peter recommends sending money to them, or other reputable charities with teams on the ground. ?