A Monumental Tragedy Needs a Monumental Response

UNITED SIKHSMarch 3, 2023

Dear Donor,

UNITED SIKHS volunteers are typically emotionally resilient people, not prone to breaking down or getting overwhelmed. But while serving earthquake victims in Turkey – for the first time in a long time – many have had their eyes well up with tears, or temporarily withdrawn into catatonic silence, sighed and gazed listlessly, pondering the colossal tragedy that had befallen perfectly good men and women.

Weep for Whom?

70 year-old Azda from Antakya, Hatay Province – one of the places affected most severely by the 6 February earthquake – lives on after having lost 8 members of her family.

Ali from İskenderun, Hatay Province, has only memories to cling on to – he lost 36 members of his family.

Meanwhile, Kenan from Samandağ, Hatay Province, continues to relive the horror of flinging both his children down the third floor building in which they lived, ironically, in a bid to save them when the earthquake first struck.

Ali, who suffered a fracture as a result of his fall, shivers at the terrifying memory of having to choose between certain death and probable death for his children and himself.

A Seismic Tragedy

The 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake is, by all accounts, the deadliest in centuries – the number of people confirmed dead has now crossed 45,000 in Turkey; thousands more have been injured across the 11 most hard hit provinces. The scale of devastation is massive.

According to a World Bank Disaster Assessment Report, the earthquake has cost Turkey an estimated $34.2 billion in direct damages to public infrastructure and residential & non-residential buildings.

Moreover, millions have been rendered homeless, food and water shortages persist, and fears of infections and epidemics are every day mounting.

Scenes from Turkey’s worst-hit cities could well be out of an apocalyptic nightmare.

Houses that lined the streets lie reduced to piles of rubble pulverized beyond recognition.

Neighborhoods, once alive and astir, wear a frightfully desolate look.

Makeshift tents – appallingly overcrowded with no sanitation facilities – have been pitched everywhere by victims, many of whom still dread going near buildings or even close to their now-mangled homes. Plunged into sudden homelessness and destitution, they have had little time to grieve their loved ones or lament their financial ruin. Everyday survival is nothing less than an ordeal.

Rushing Forward to Help

Teams of UNITED SIKHS volunteers flew in from Germany and Denmark, reaching the badly affected province of Adıyaman on Day 3 of the earthquake.

Presently a team from the U.S. is serving at various affected spots across Adana and Hatay provinces.

As part of our relief operations, we are distributing essentials such as food, water, and clothing.

Given the state of the wrecked gas pipelines, we have also begun distributing portable cylinders. The old and indigent are being offered cash assistance.

Soldiering On

Helping out in Turkey has by no means been easy for our volunteers.

The team at Samandağ has been putting up inside containers and the one in Adana Province is currently in living quarters far from the main site of destruction – widespread devastation made it impossible to put up anywhere close by. Every day they dutifully refill the SUV with supplies at Adana city, and drive down the treacherous, debris-littered 3-hour road to reach the affected towns and cities.

That’s not all.

On more than one occasion, gaggles of men, women, and children desperately clamoring for essentials accosted our volunteers, jostling to seize provisions and creating a near-riot like situation.

Leave Mid-Way? The Question doesn’t Arise!

No matter how tough the going gets, UNITED SIKHS volunteers are determined to stay on and lend a hand.

Volunteers feel they must continue to provide humanitarian and relief aid till a measure of normalcy returns to the region.

Wonder what makes them want to go on despite the many odds?

The answer is YOU. YOUR magnanimity strengthens our resolve. Because we know you’ve never been one to look away. Especially not when millions have been left bereft of all they ever had. All they ever had – read that again.

A serpentine queue outside a UNITED SIKHS aid distribution center; victims’ needs overwhelmingly outweigh supplies.