A Nova Scotia i am worried about my family turkey Those who survived the earthquake but are now scrambling to get to safety.
Aid efforts continue for the third day after Monday’s powerful earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria. Concerns are growing as survivors seek shelter and aid, while the death toll continues to mount.
Omar Antebi says he fears his family in Turkey will not be able to find safe shelter after surviving a deadly earthquake.
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He and his sister are keeping a close eye on their phones for updates. Dozens of his family members are now living on the streets, including the children and their grandparents.
Their homes were destroyed when the earthquake reduced the buildings to rubble.
“They are feeling cold. The temperature is dropping below zero,” Omar says.
“They don’t have food to feed the children. Nothing on his head. And there is no money.
The site where a family’s home used to be before the Turkey-Syria earthquake.
Credit: Mazda Entebbe
Mazda says they are also finding it difficult to access safe drinking water. She says they are scared.
“They are afraid of losing their children or of losing one of my grandparents because both of my grandparents are sick,” says Majda.
Omar and his sister are from Syria and immigrated to Canada with their parents in 2016. Several members of his family are now living as refugees in Turkey.
The siblings say they have been placed at the bottom of the list for assistance including tents.
“There was no war in Turkey,” explains Mazda. “People flee Syria to Turkey to feel safe and right now they are not treated equally and they are not safe.”
Omar says that it is almost impossible to reach the city of Gaziantep.
“The ground has crumbled,” he says. “Cars can’t get through because there’s a big hole … They need a helicopter or a plane to get them food and resources.”
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He and Mazda are calling on the federal government to expedite immigration to Canada for the survivors.
“To help us get them here and to unite with us here in Canada because they think they are going to die there without ever seeing us,” he says.
Omar says Nova Scotians can also help by calling on legislators to take action.
International aid and rescue teams are reaching the area to help.
Canada has pledged $10 million to Syria and Turkey and the Canadian Red Cross is accepting donations to provide immediate emergency relief.
Rescuers are facing tough terrain as they search for survivors amid frigid temperatures and thousands of collapsed buildings. They also face isolated areas due to the ongoing civil war in Syria.
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