Donate to Turkey
We are doing everything we can to help the victims of the terrible earthquake in Turkey. There is a great need for sanitation and shelter. Our colleague Rüstü helped on the spot. His stories are moving and convinced us to start this action.
Please help and supplement our donation? Together with Rüstü we ensure that the full amount goes to local initiatives that provide aid in the disaster area.
Rüstü's personal story
Rüstü tells what he experienced on the spot:
"On Monday 6 February, I woke up, like many others, to the terrible news from Turkey. A disaster of such magnitude and with so many victims and damage, I had never heard of it before. I could not believe my eyes and knew for sure that I wanted to personally help to pull people out of the rubble.
At Delta Team I work as a safety expert, but originally I am an ex-military man and I followed a search and rescue training. Through my network, together with a former colleague, I immediately contacted a rescue brigade. The commander of the rescue brigade was very enthusiastic, but also clear: "Guys, the damage here is of unprecedented magnitude, your efforts are at your own risk and with your own resources. There is no transport and the roads are closed, if you can save yourself, you are welcome. Good luck". Not a word more or less and he hung up.
The journey
Together with my buddy we packed our backpacks and flew directly from Düsseldorf airport to Kayseri. From there we took the bus to Adana. There we saw for the first time the large amount of damaged and collapsed buildings and the numerous emergency services. The scale really started to sink in.
In the meantime it was 00:00 and we found a last minute bus that was packed full to go to Iskenderun. When we got there it looked like a war zone: the bus station no longer existed, roads were blocked by collapsed buildings and everywhere people were sitting who had made a fire to warm up (in the meantime it was -5 degrees). We still had 66 km to go, the last and most difficult part. Nothing was running so we had to hitchhike with others three times to cover a mountainous area of 50 km.
We drove through villages and small towns. Everywhere people were lying under the rubble hoping to be rescued. It was like a ghost town, no one in sight, only people under the rubble.
We walked the last bit with our packs to the camp of the rescue brigade. There we were warmly welcomed by the commander. He advised us to eat something and go to sleep. But, despite the long journey, we did not want this and indicated that we were immediately available.
The rescue work
In the city center of Antakya I could not believe my eyes: no building was left standing, everything had collapsed. In one fell swoop people had lost their lives, loved ones, homes and possessions. Absolutely nothing left. Survivors waited hopelessly next to the rubble for help. Corpses lay everywhere, from young to old.
We started in two groups to rescue people and also to make contact with the residents and victims as interpreters. There were many more victims than aid workers present, which meant that the emergency services had to prioritize. As a team we tried to save people’s lives and fortunately we did. But we wanted to help everyone and unfortunately that was not possible. I personally had to tell survivors that their loved ones had died. Emotions were running high, including mine…
Shelter is the most important thing now
I am now back in the Netherlands. It has been two weeks and the earthquakes are continuing. International aid services have been partially withdrawn and people are having to survive in the cold. The most important needs for survivors at the moment are shelter in the form of a container house or a tent and sanitary facilities. That is why I am trying to collect aid.”
