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Earthquake Survivors Share Their Stories
Elif Unal, with the American Red Cross in Turkey
Wednesday, July 30, 2003 — Kodiye Babakiray -- Eighty-year-old widow Kodiye Babakiray was lucky enough to escape with only minor injuries after a moderate earthquake rocked Turkey's eastern province of Bingol on May 1, 2003. The 6.4-magnitude tremor killed at least 170 people and injured hundereds of others when it struck at 3:30 a.m.
Kodiye Babakiray
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"I did not realized what was going on at first, because I was sleeping when the tremor hit," Kodiye said as she watched relief workers from the Turkish Red Crescent Society busy at work distributing food parcels. "A few moments later I found my body halfway under the rubble. My legs were trapped under wooden beams that had collapsed from the roof."
The Turkish Red Crescent dispatched disaster response teams, mobile kitchens, tents and other relief materials immediately to the affected area. To help support the recovery operation, the American Red Cross joined forces with the Turkish Red Crescent Society in extending a helping hand to the quake victims. Within a month, as a result of their close cooperation, both national societies launched the distribution of food parcels to 9,000 families in Bingol whose houses collapsed or suffered heavy and moderate damage.
In addition to providing food and shelter services, the national societies distributed brochures on disaster safety and coping with the psychological effects of disasters.
Kodiye, the mother of four children, is living with one of her sons in their mud-brick home, expressed her appreciation for the food parcels that her son had received; "God be pleased with the Turkish Red Crescent. All food stuff that we had was buried down under the wreckage of our home after the earthquake. The Turkish Red Crescent saved us from hunger."
Aysel Balik -- On the night of May 1, Aysel Balik was in a deep sleep, tired from her daily routine as a housewife with two children. At 3:30, however, he was jolted awake when a 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook Turkey's eastern province of Bingol, forcing her and her family out of their house in a panic.
Aysel Balik
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"When it started, I felt a stong fear of death. I grabbed my 3-year-old son and my husband grabbed my baby girl and we ran outside the house as quickly as possible,"she recalled days later during a Turkish Red Crescent Society food distribution.
Since the disaster occurred the Turkish Red Crescent Soceity and the American Red Cross had worked together to provide assistance to 9,000 families whose houses were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. "They have given us flour, cooking oil and other food items," Aysel said. "Thanks to the Turkish Red Crescent I will be able to feed my children. As a family we had no place to go, nothing to eat and my husband has no job. The Turkish Red Crescent gave us so much help."
The Turkish Red Crescent and American Red Cross supported families not only with food and sheltering services but also with information on how to be prepared for disasters and how to cope with post-disaster trauma in the form of brochures that reached an estimated 50,000 people in the affected region.
"They gave us a tent on the same day of the earthquake. My house did not collapse but there are big cracks on the walls. My husband and I are thankful to the Turkish Red Crescent that it provided us a safe place to sleep," she said.
Muhittin Kere -- Muhittin Kere was panicked when he realized that the earth was shaking in the middle of the night on May 1, 2003. "Along with the jolt I heard a strange noise ," he said. Muhittin and his wife ran outside of their single-story house with their two children. "I felt like it was doomsday," he said, describing how his neighbors also ran from their homes.
Muhittin Kere
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Weeks later, Muhittin was beginning to recover as he accepted a food parcel and two brochures distributed jointly by the Turkish Red Crescent Soceity and the American Red Cross. " The Turkish Red Crescent has already given us a tent. Now it is giving us this food parcel. Thanks to God, they were here and are still here to help us," he said.
Muhittin's two-story house did not collapse but suffered from serious damage during the quake, putting his family on the list of 9,000 others who were eligible to receive food parcels. The distribution was the latest in the coordinated efforts of the Turkish Red Crescent and the American Red Cross to help the quake victims to return to their normal lives, taking over for the daily hot meal services initiated a month ago in the immediate wake of the disaster.
Looking at two brochures he had received in addition to a food parcel, Muttin said; "I will definately read them". By distributing the brochures the two national soceities hope to ease some of the trauma in the quake's aftermath and prepare the communities for future disasters.
Yunus Gunergok -- Yunus Gunergok carried food parcels distributed by the Turkish Red Crescent and American Red Cross to his motorcycle to bring them to his family and neighbors. The young unemployed man, who was married with two children, remained calm when he remembered his moments with the earthquake. "I tried to get up and stand on my feet moments after I felt the shaking. But the jolt was powerful. I lied down and decided not to move until it ended," he said.
Yunus Gunergok
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Yunus and his family left the house once the shaking stopped. "There are cracks on the walls of my house. We were so scared and we would not go back into the house for a week, " he added. Yunus was among 9,000 families eligible to receive food parcels a month after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook Turkey's eastern province of Bingol, killing at least 170 people and injuring hundreds of others. He has also received two brochures that provide disaster preparedness tips and tips for handling post-disaster trauma.
The Turkish Red Crescent mobilized disaster relief workers, mobile kitchens and health clinics along with tents, heaters and other relief materials in response to the disaster.
Yunus helped his neighbor rescue two children trapped under the wreckage of a house. The children were mildly injured and their families have taken them to a health clinic, he said. While loading the food parcels for his family and his neighbors, Yunus added; " I appreciate the Turkish Red Crescent for all its help to us. There is enough here to feed my family for two months".
You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year, crises like the Myanmar Cyclone and China Earthquake, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation by either contacting 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish), or mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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