Turkish Consul Gürsel Evren spoke to DT about the earthquake in his country, and the actions of the Consulate to help the victims in the country and their families here in Brazil
After the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, the 6th, the eyes of the world are on these two countries. So much so that, this morning, the 8th, the Government of São Paulo announced that it will send a team of 26 officers to Turkey to help rescue earthquake victims. As of 5 pm today, the death toll in Turkey and Syria had passed 11,000.
Today, a team of 22 firefighters, 2 military doctors, 2 members of the Civil Defense, four sniffer dogs, a labrador and three Belgian Malinois are leaving for the country. So, as the government reported, this is a national mission led by the state. Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Brasília will also send agents to help in the search for the missing.
This earthquake is considered the largest in 80 years in Turkey and Syria in terms of death toll and material damage. This number (11,000) considers the total number of deaths in the two countries, with, as of this Wednesday, 8,754 in Turkey, and more than 2,530 in Syria.
On the other hand, fortunately, several people who were in the rubble have already been rescued.
To understand a little more about the situation, the DT spoke with Gürsel Evren, Consul General of Turkey in SP.
Help for victims of the earthquake in Turkey
As for the actions of the Consulate to assist the victims after what happened, Gürsel said that the Consulate and the Embassy work in harmony with the local government. “People can check out the actions on our Facebook, and on our website as well. We are in contact with the affected regions and AFAD (Turkish Disaster Management Authority) to understand what they need and how we can help,” he told the report.
“We are also in contact with the ABC (Brazilian Cooperation Agency), which is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” commented the Consul.
Support for victims' families in Brazil
Regarding assistance to families living in Brazil, Gürsel informed that they can (and should) get in touch. “That way, they have all the necessary support, with access to information on the regions affected by the earthquake.”
How can Brazilians help Turkish citizens?
Gürsel Evren spoke about how Brazilian citizens can help the Turkish population.
“There are international agencies, and also Turkish agencies that accept cash donations. They are: the AFAD; the Turkish Red Crescent Association (Kizilay), and the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation (the Religious Foundation of Türkiye, in free translation)”, he pointed out.
Evren even pointed out that these cash donations are easier and more efficient to reach Turkey. “Because, materials and food are important, but until they are transported by ship or plane and arrive in Turkey, it takes longer. So donating in kind to these associations is faster. We appreciate all the support we are getting from Brazilians.”