Turkish people living across Europe have mobilized to help and provide aid for the victims of two powerful earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, killing at least 6,234 and leaving many in need of assistance.
Turkish people, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and consulates in the Netherlands launched various campaigns to help those in the quake-hit regions.
Along with financial assistance, people are also collecting essential items to send to Türkiye through many organizations, including the Netherlands Diyanet Foundation.
Vast amounts of relief materials including winter clothes, blankets and heating devices, which were collected in the Turkish community's mosques and warehouses are already heading to Türkiye.
The Turkish community across the United Kingdom has come together to support people affected by the earthquakes, collecting 10 tons of aid materials in one day to send to the country.
A total of 35 Turkish associations in the U.K. collected aid materials and winter supplies Monday for the people affected by the devastating quakes.
"We are proud of our community, which collected donations and aid within five or six hours," said Umit Yalçın, Türkiye's ambassador to the U.K.
The event for aids which soared through social media in a span of hours reaching the Turkish student body across the United Kingdom. As the Turkish student community in the U.K., they truly believe "in the importance of uniting in hard times and sending back to their home country".
On Friday, February 10th the KCL Turkish Society will create three hotspots across London: in Bush House, Strand Building and Guys Campus. They aim to collect necessary materials such as pillows, baby food, scarf-hat-gloves, tent, blanket, flashlight, diapers, thermos, sleeping bags, and sanitary products, the goods will then be sent to Türkiye via Turkish Cargo.
In Greece, the governing New Democracy Party and its youth branch launched a campaign to help victims in Türkiye and Syria. As part of this, they called for collecting necessities.
Additionally, the Greek Basketball Federation, Greek Red Cross, General Confederation of Greek Workers and various municipalities, including the capital Athens, also launched various campaigns to extend help.
The Muslim Turkish minority, which is concentrated in Greece’s Western Thrace region, has also mobilized for relief efforts.
Earlier, in cooperation with the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) and Red Cross, the Istanbul Greek Universal Federation announced that it would start a blood donation campaign on Saturday.
Turkish people in the Spanish capital Madrid prepared aid packages and left them in Turkish Airlines’ (THY) offices. The Turkish flag carrier said earlier that it will send earthquake aid free of charge.
At the same time, Turkish citizens living in the German capital Berlin, the Austrian capital Vienna and the Italian capital Rome are also continuing efforts to extend a helping hand to victims in Türkiye.
Working voluntarily, many people have collected and packaged humanitarian aid to make it ready before sending it to Türkiye.
In Bulgaria, the supreme religious authority for the country’s Turkish Muslim population has launched an earthquake relief drive, news outlet Kircaali Haber reported. In Romania, major news outlets of the country’s Turkish-Tatar minority, including Hayat and Gazete Balkan, are encouraging community members to coordinate aid efforts with the Turkish-Romanian Businessmen Association.
Apart from the Turkish diaspora, various organizations including British daily tabloid newspaper, the Sun and Germany's Deutsche Telekom have launched relief and aid campaigns for earthquake-hit areas in Türkiye and Syria.
In the U.K., the Sun launched a campaign called "The Sun Earthquake Appeal" to help the response to the destruction and loss of life in Türkiye. Newspaper readers can donate 5 pounds ($6) by sending a message and all proceeds will be donated to the British Red Cross for a major on-the-ground mobilization, said the publisher.
Europe’s largest telecoms company, Deutsche Telekom also announced it is making all calls and text messages from its network between Germany, Türkiye and Syria free of charge until Feb. 15. It also announced the donation of 1 million euros ($1.07 million) to the German relief organization Aktion Deutschland Hilft for quake-hit victims.
At least 8,574 people were killed and 49,133 were left injured after two strong quakes jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, according to official figures by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
The death toll in Syria from a devastating earthquake has surpassed 2,500, according to Syrian state media, on Wednesday morning.