Turkey Syria earthquake: Dunedin NZ Syrians heartbroken, worried for families

Members of Dunedin’s Syrian community fear for the wellbeing of family members they are unable to contact in the wake of a massive earthquake.

Dunedin Syrian Society president Wasim Askar said some had lost family members in the magnitude 7.8 quake, which struck southern Turkey near the Syrian border on Monday.

Others were unable to contact loved ones.

Critical infrastructure as well as homes is among the many buildings destroyed.

The death toll this morning had surpassed 20,000.

Families in Dunedin were really heartbroken, he said.

He had a cousin in Pazarcik, a Turkish town near the epicentre of the earthquake, who described an apocalyptic scene of collapsing buildings, shaking ground and screaming people.

“Luckily he’s not injured, but his neighbours, his friends and some relatives have passed away.”

He had been unable to reach another cousin, but had listened to voice messages the cousin had sent to his brother.

The messages warned he was about to lose cellphone connection, and now the family did not know what was happening.

The biggest concern for people was how they could find out whether or not relatives had survived, he said.

One family had lost seven members, and in another, all three children had been killed although the mother had survived.

Some people had been trapped under rubble in winter weather — his cousin said it had been snowing.

Dunedin Syrian Society president Wasim Askar is among those worried about family members following Monday’s earthquake in Turkey, near the Syrian border. Photo / Peter McIntosh, ODT

There was a shortage of rescuers to get them out, as the Syrian Civil Defence were the only people on the ground in Syria who could help.

Another worry was how they could get aid to people who needed it as soon as possible.

This was especially difficult in Syria, where sanctions meant money could not be sent directly.

The community was praying for the families who had been impacted, and were thankful for the support they had received so far, he said.

Dunedin’s Mustafa Boztas, who lived in the Turkish city of Konya during the Covid pandemic, said he was also praying for families who had lost loved ones, or who had lost their homes.

Rescuers search a destroyed building in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. With the hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

He had seen a lightbulb swinging back and forth after the earthquake while on a video call to family in Konya, several hundred kilometres from the epicentre.

It was devastating to see the damage that had been done, and he was working with the charity Hasene Australia in a fundraising effort for victims, he said.

• The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand has also launched an appeal to assist the relief effort. As part of this, people can give to the Otago Muslim Association’s regional appeal — 38-9017-0668964-00 reference “Turkey earthquake”.