‘Watching the disaster unfold from afar is painful’: Turkish man living in SA

An exiled journalist from Pazarcık, the epicentre of the earthquake in Turkey, says he is relieved his immediate family is safe, but some friends and neighbours have died or are missing.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early on Monday, killing and displacing thousands of people and destroying homes and infrastructure.

Turkmen Terzi, who lives in South Africa, said his elderly parents had fortunately been away from home visiting family in Istanbul, more than 1,000km away.

Other family members had managed to drive to a rural property for safety, but he is concerned about the plight of a distant cousin.

“The epicentre is my hometown,” said Terzi.

“All my sisters have taken refuge. They managed to drive to a farm house. Luckily my parents, who can barely walk, had left the city to visit my brother 10 days before it hit.

“This is my biggest relief, but I’m devastated for the community.

“What is happening is sad. Some of my neighbours have died. Schools and other important infrastructure has collapsed.”

He said among his relatives, a father and a son were at a food market when the earthquake struck.

“My relatives went missing in the Afsin district. The father and son were at the market when it hit. They found the body of the father but the son is missing. We have no news.

“He’s someone I was close to when growing up.”

He said it pained him to watch the disaster unfold from afar.

“If I could, I would go there today and mobilise for help and assist where I can.

“When the 1999 earthquake hit Turkey, I was a student. The devastation was big and I was one of the people who volunteered to assist people.” he said.

Many countries and aid organisations have rallied behind the country by delivering emergency humanitarian assistance.

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