Turkey’s call for aid in the aftermath of the country’s earthquake early last week fell on receptive ears in Syracuse.

‘After the Turkish government asked for help from foreign countries, it became obvious that we need to take a step forward to increase the awareness on campus,’ said Hamza Salih Erden, president of the Turkish Student Association and doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering at Syracuse University.

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Van province in southeast Turkey on Oct. 23. As of Sunday evening, 1,561 aftershocks of varying magnitudes rocked the country, according to Earthquake Report, an independent earthquake reporting website.

Tens of thousands of displaced Turks, homeless or afraid to return to the unstable infrastructures of homes and buildings, slept in streets and tent cities this week as nightly temperatures dropped below freezing, according to a Time magazine article published online Sunday. The death toll in Turkey surpassed 600, according to Earthquake Report.

TSA joined with the Helping Hands Relief Foundation to raise funds to improve conditions in the region with a campaign that began Saturday. The Turkish Cultural Center has also been working through Helping Hands on its own, Erden said.

TSA contacted Helping Hands after the nonprofit organization began a donation campaign on the night the earthquake hit the Van province.

‘Helping Hands’ offer was very reasonable,’ said Erden about the coordination of fundraising efforts between Helping Hands and the university.

In addition to soliciting monetary donations through Helping Hands’ website, TSA will collect nonmonetary donations like clothing, shoes, handbags, linens, curtains, bicycles and toys, Erden said. The donations will be exchanged for money, which will then aid the affected region.

The campaign will continue through the fall. Collection boxes for nonmonetary donations will be placed throughout campus this week, Erden said. TSA will sponsor fundraising tables in the Schine Atrium between Nov. 14 and Nov. 18.

Additionally, they will solicit donations at the screening of the Turkish comedy film ‘Organize Isler,’ or ‘Organized Jobs’ when translated, on Nov. 2, the culture-sharing event Turkish Table on Nov. 3 and the Cultures on the Quad stand on Nov. 9.

The website of the Turkish Cultural Center in Syracuse features a link to Helping Hands’ online donation page as well, in addition to information on the Turkish Earthquake Relief Telethon.

The telethon is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. and is organized by Helping Hands Relief Foundation. It will be broadcast through Ebru TV, according to TCC’s website. TCC has collaborated with Helping Hands in the past, and the TCC center in Syracuse maintains a consistent relationship with the TSA on campus. TCC could not be reached to comment.

The changing situation in Turkey will affect the way funds are allocated, said Nevzat Yilmaz, president of Helping Hands.

‘We are keeping in touch with organizations in Turkey, and we are talking about what we can do once we get the donations. The situation is changing day by day in that area,’ Yilmaz said.

Yilmaz said tents, blankets and food are greatly needed.

As of Thursday, four to five universities already contacted the foundation, in addition to approximately 400 people with individual donations. Although Yilmaz did not reveal the monetary total raised so far, he said he is happy with the response.

Said Yilmaz: ‘It’s a good amount, and we hope that within the next 10 days it will be a huge amount.’

nagorny@syr.edu

 

Published on October 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm