Mending Broken Futures and Dreams
Empathizing with the Ones in Devastation
I am running this fundraiser under the Türkiye Earthquake Relief Fund, established by BTF, a US-based charitable non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization.
“Us”
How did you wake up today?
Energetic? A little down?
Was it warmer or colder in your bedroom?
Do you feel ready for the day?
It is Friday! Couple of things to take care on the calendar, and then comes the weekend.
Not too bad.
“Them”
Let’s shift our gaze to the photo below for a second.
A man, sitting in front of a huge pile of rubble.
Let's take a closer look.
…and let’s zoom in one more step:
The man in this picture is holding his daughter’s hand.
She is not alive.
What happened in Türkiye?
Two devastating earthquakes struck the densely populated region of Turkey on Feb 6th, 2023, with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5.
These earthquakes destroyed 10 cities with a combined population of 14 million people.
The scale of destruction is simply incomprehensible:
The quakes struck in the early morning hours, around 4 AM, when people were asleep, leading to a higher death toll. Survivors face hunger and freezing (10F / -12C) temperatures.
Access to the affected area is hindered by both the earthquake damage and snow storms, but national and international rescue teams are risking their lives to reach those in need.
Recovery from this disaster will be long and arduous, taking years or even decades to complete.
Many lives have been lost. And the survivors will be facing years of economic and psychological hardships.
These will not be our average hardships, some survivors’ families, dreams and futures got completely lost under rubbles of concrete.
Understand the Scale
Humans differ in their way of handling hardships, but generally it is easier to understand things when it hits it directly at home.
I prepared the diagram below, to help friends that live around the Northeast of the United States understand the area of effect of the earthquake.
…and it worked. Many friends and colleagues, who have already seen the photos and the videos from the earthquake zone got appalled when they saw the diagram above:
Nooooooooooooooo!
…and I said, unfortunately, yes.
Can you help? — YES!
I can only do so much on my own, and I wanted to bring this to your attention and put this disaster into perspective with a local reference:
The affected area is equivalent to the total size of several states in the US Northeast, including Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, extending to West Virginia. You have probably already realized that the northern boundary of that circle is reaching main cities of Canada.
You have probably already helped in one way or another, or thought of helping.
If not and if you have an intention to do so:
I am running this fundraiser under the Türkiye Earthquake Relief Fund, established by BTF, a US-based charitable non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization.
Contributions made to BTF are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by IRS. BTF’s US tax identification number is 58–2678580. Details can be found in the link above.
“Us” = “Them”
Empathy starts when we all realize we are all humans. I grew up in a country which has decendants from many different areas and cultures, and then moved to US, where diversity is even greater.
I have been a foreigner in the United States, and in my home country, Turkey!
I have been at home, in my home country, Turkey, and in the United States!
It all depended on how people treated me.
And that taught me to be kind, supportive and empathetic.
My only hope is that we can keep finding power and will to mend broken futures and dreams.
Let’s do it together!
