Interview “Acknowledge our pain, talk to us and stand with us.”
Master student Sena Demir from Turkey could not bear surrendering to the situation in the earthquake area, to the grief and helplessness. Thus, she decided to help those affected by the earthquake.
Sena Demir is studying English and American Studies. She moved from Turkey to Bochum in April 2022. In an interview she reports, how she felt when she heard from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Sena Demir, when and where did you receive the first information about the earthquake?
I woke up very early that day. I don’t have any social media accounts, but I was listening to a live podcast on YouTube and I heard the newsbreak. Every channel was mentioning another city as the epicentre of the earthquake. I immediately tried to contact my friends and their families in those cities. However, I still haven’t managed to talk to all of them.
What was your first thought?
As someone who experienced one of the biggest earthquakes in Turkey’s history back in 1999, when I was only five years old, unfortunately, I am very familiar with what such an earthquake can cause in countries like Turkey and Syria. My first reaction was to try to reach the people I know. However, there was no signal on the earthquake victims’ mobile phones due to the damage and nobody officially confirmed what the situation was really like until the next day.
Those, whose homes had not collapsed, were getting back into their homes due to the harsh winter conditions in the area. Then I heard about the second earthquake and saw some videos of buildings that hadn’t collapsed in the first earthquake collapse. What can one think when your home, the supposedly safest spot on earth, collapses and buries you and all your beloved ones into darkness and deafening silence under wreckage?
Tweets, stories, and posts are still saving lives, helping us to reach those who are in need.
Sena Demir
How do you get more information about the situation in Turkey and Syria?
Hearing news from Turkey has become easier for me as many volunteers immediately rushed to the cities that have been demolished, especially after the second earthquake. I signed up for various social media platforms as I noticed that people started tweeting or sharing Instagram stories to call for help from wreckages. Those tweets, stories, and posts are still saving lives, helping us to reach those who are in need. Twitter got temporarily restricted in Turkey as expected. It’s not a surprise for us to see people trying to oppress people even during such a humanitarian catastrophe. The power that social media holds immediately turns into our primary source of information and communication during these times.
The non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Ahbap became an umbrella organisation to volunteer in the region and in other cities. People all around the world also witnessed how Ahbap has transparently been making immediate use of donations. We communicate with them and other NGOs for reliable information on what they need. Turkey immediately called for international offers of help to rescue as many people as possible, however, civil society awareness proved to us the importance of organised movements.
Syria, on the other hand, has been doomed for a long time. The civilians in Syria have learned to bore the neglect. It’s neither easy to get information from the region, nor to make sure that any attempted help can reach those victims. We can only follow news from Syria on social media or from our Syrian friends, who are still trying to reach their families. I also try to stay in touch with the NGO called The White Helmets who have been actively involved in especially sending search and rescue teams and medical supplies to the region to get more information from northeastern Syria.
How would you describe the current situation?
Some people were rescued even 225 hours after the earthquake. It has been ten days and we are still hoping for saving one more life. The earthquake hit the region at 04:17 AM, when people were mostly asleep. Those who have been rescued, are left homeless, but they don’t want to leave their families, their beloved ones, and their homes, their cities behind and they are waiting between the wreckages with the hope of at least someone getting them out.
It’s the coldest days of the year, they burn whatever they can, sit around the fire, and mourn their losses waiting to hear someone calling for help under the shambles. I am not sure how to describe the current situation without mentioning each individual trauma, as well as the collective trauma both people of Turkey and Syria have been experiencing in the region, in other cities, and abroad. The catastrophe is beyond comprehension. We are puzzled by the reality.
Each and every life, from newborn babies to children, adults, families, and elders, from birds to cats and rescue dogs, from students to laborers, from doctors to rescue teams, from volunteers to grieved mothers, from all, lamented, amputated, disabled, physically or psychologically reached to their limits need urgent help. No life should be less valuable than any system, any stock market, any capital, any profit. Shame on humanity, if we turn a blind eye to each other due to ethnic discrimination, racism, speciesism, sexism, ableism, socio-economic disparity, or any other discriminatory tendencies.
In Turkey and Syria, people need to be reminded that they are human beings and that they are not left alone
Sena Demir
What do the people need?
The earthquake razed Maslow’s pyramid of needs to the ground in Turkey and Syria. They need everything, from physiological essentials such as shelter, food, and clean water, to medical supplies, and socio-psychological support for all. They immediately need tents, containers, hygiene kits, mobile toilets and showers, medicine, vitamins, heaters, coats, boots, socks, and underwear. Those are essential to be able to survive. Nobody knows when the dreadful shock ends. Until then,both, in Turkey and Syria, people need to be reminded that they are human beings and that they are not left alone.
How do you try to help? And how can people from Germany help?
I couldn’t travel back to Turkey to be with my friends and my family, and I couldn’t accept sitting with my hands tied, bearing the heaviness of the situation. I believe it is not going to take a short time to rearise for anyone. Therefore, we want to raise awareness and thus started working on a project called “Call for Collective Solidarity” for the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. We will be introducing trustworthy organisations that have been actively working in the region such as Ahbap, The White Helmets and Orange. It’s very important to support the volunteers in the region to see immediate change.
Volunteering students will set up information desks on campus, and hang printouts of QR codes linked to organisations’ donation webpages for one-time or monthly donations. I also find it absolutely crucial to mention that our culture is rooted in collectivism, not individualism. Our information desk and volunteers will be in front of the library from 20 Februrary 2023 onwards. I invite everyone to get in touch with us, to try to acknowledge our pain, to talk to us and stand with us.