‘I see children that have lost everything’: Canadian volunteers in Turkey share stories following earthquake

More than a week after the Turkey-Syria earthquake that killed over 39,000 people, the rescue and rehabilitation efforts continue, and some volunteers share details on the destruction they have witnessed.

While some Canadian humanitarian workers are still waiting for the Syrian borders to open up, volunteers like Hasan Wadi, who have gone to Turkey, describe the plight of the Turkey earthquake victims.

“It’s so cold they need clothing, they need blankets, they need a shelter. It’s freezing,” Wadi said.

“I struggled so much with the cold. I’ve been living in Canada for 25 years. They need food, they say they get only soup every day so they are trying to find whatever they can get from others, but they need more than that. Can we give them more than that?”

Wadi spent three days in Turkey, and he says those were some of the most difficult days of his life.

He works as a manager and brand ambassador with Canada’s oldest Muslim charity, Human Concern International (HCI), and he says the plight of the displaced families is heartbreaking, especially for children, who are forced to live on the streets.

“They need clothing. One of the moms showed me her daughter and said, ‘Look at her. I have not changed her clothing in a week now, we’re not able to shower.’ There’s no sanitation. This was a huge struggle. You want to go to the bathroom. Where do you go?” Wadi told CityNews.

“You see families, you see homes collapsed, and within that area of damage, you see couches, you see pictures, you see TV. And I was like, wow, this is just like my home. I don’t just see wood and concrete in those broken homes. I see humans, I see people, I see families, I see children that have lost everything due to the earthquake and now have to live a life that they’re not even used to.”

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HCI says due to border closures, they are unable to send goods or volunteers from Canada to Syria, yet they are working with local partners on the ground.

Mahmuda Khan, HCI’s executive director, says in the meantime, Canada is purchasing relief goods from countries like Pakistan to send to Syria through the Middle East.

“Right now, through the advocacy and lots of dialogues, we’re expecting very soon the border will open up, and we will be able to get aid in very quickly,” Khan said.

“From Canada, procurements are happening. We have been sending shipments through Qatar and Dubai, so they are going in, but the affected areas happen to be closer to the Turkey border. So that’s where we need much more collaboration with the Turkish authority to get the aids in.”

Khan says hundreds of Canadian volunteers are working day and night toward the rehabilitation of quake victims in Turkey and Syria.

She says, for now, they are in dire need of monetary donations to keep the efforts going on, as the rehabilitation stage is going to take many more months.