Surrounded by sorrow, rescue workers arriving in Turkey focus on survivors

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details

After a violent 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey early on Monday, international aid groups began mobilizing as the country began to assess the scale of the disaster.

When the region was hit by another earthquake nine hours later, aid workers and volunteers were on their way to Turkey, including two Canadians who were part of the emergency response in the devastated town of Kahramanmaras.

“We’re distributing food, water, blankets, whatever we can,” said Aysha Syed, director of fundraising with Islamic Relief Canada.

Syed and her friend, Yasmine Alameddine, spoke to CBC news in front of a city block that had been reduced to rubble.

Excavators were used to move the heavy layers of concrete and bricks that fell when the apartment building collapsed. Mattresses and curtains emerged from the rubble, picked out by rescuers and volunteers as they searched for those buried beneath.

“You just feel sad but you also see glimmers of hope every now and then and that’s what keeps us going,” Syed said.

Turkish officials say 13.5 million people have been affected by the earthquake, and the death toll continues to rise above 20,000 as more bodies are pulled from the rubble. The Canadian government has pledged $10 million in aid, and will match up to $10 million in donations through the Canadian Red Cross.

basic needs

The two women flew in from Toronto on Monday and are part of a 70-person Islamic Relief team that is in southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria.

Syed said international aid organizations have permanent staff in the field and some of their employees have lost family members to the earthquake. The group also recruits volunteers and provides food on Thursdays, including date packs.

Alameddine, regional manager of fundraising for southern and western Ontario, told CBC News he was struck when a mother came up with her young daughter, asking for a blanket.

“He told me that he was so busy and busy looking for his sister in the ruins that he didn’t have time to think about where or how he would sleep,” he said.

The group is all without blankets, he said, and it’s a reminder of how important some basic necessities are when there’s a major devastation.

All blocks disappear

Before the earthquake, the city of Kahramanmaras had a population of approximately 500,000 people. It sits at the base of the Taurus mountains, and its snow-capped peaks and Mediterranean valleys make for stunning views.

Now all the blocks were gone, and the stench of death hung in the air and grew stronger as the debris was turned by the heavy machinery.

It’s not clear how many buildings were destroyed here, but there is a giant gaping hole in the city where apartments used to be. The rest of the building looked as if it could collapse at any moment. The front facade has collapsed onto the street, and furniture is stuck on top.

Traffic choked roads as crews, heavy equipment and residents tried to navigate the devastated city.

When the CBC was in Kahramanmaras, it took the crew more than an hour to travel two kilometers. It’s a problem throughout the region.

Alameddine said the group planned to distribute aid in Turkey’s southernmost province of Hatay, but he feared it would not be possible due to traffic jams and damaged roads.

In Kahramanmaras, the sports hall has been converted into an emergency morgue. Bodies wrapped in blankets and bags lay on the floor as relatives counted, trying to identify their loved ones.

Little feet in socks printed with soccer balls stuck out from one of the small bundles on the floor.

Outside, Hamsa Rajid carried the body of a five-year-old girl. He said he was one of 15 relatives lost in the quake.

“The building collapsed and we were trying to get him out,” he told CBC News.

“But then it caught fire.”

mass burial

Outside the morgue, other residents told CBC News they had lost so many relatives that they had to go to multiple locations to claim the bodies.

Mass burials have begun because the Islamic faith calls for the dead to be buried quickly.

It’s a grim and shocking reality that Syed says he won’t fully process until he gets home.

The woman said that while immediate aid is provided, the organization will focus on long-term assistance, including the construction of new homes, and potential sponsorship for orphans.

“The hardest thing for me personally is seeing all the displaced children,” Syed said.

“This traumatic event has changed the course of his life and no matter what we do, we will never be able to get back what we lost.”