BLOOMINGTON, Ind — Students, staff and faculty at Indiana University showed their continuing support for Turkey with a forum on Monday, the same day the country, already devastated by a massive earthquake two weeks ago, was hit by yet another earthquake.
The 6.4 magnitude earthquake was centered in the town of Defne, in Turkey's Hatay province, one the worst-hit regions in the magnitude 7.8 quake that struck on Feb. 6. It was felt in Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, Israel and as far away as Egypt, and followed by a second, magnitude 5.8 temblor.
Three people were killed and more than 200 were injured in parts of Turkey. More buildings collapsed, trapping some people, while scores of injuries were recorded in neighboring Syria, too.
As rescuers dug through the rubble Monday, people in central Indiana looked for ways they, too, could help.
Turkish students in Bloomington set up a GoFundMe page to help with relief efforts in Turkey. On Monday, more than $25,000 had been raised.
Turkish students, staff, faculty and friends gathered Monday night for an educational forum and fundraiser that was sponsored by 12 IU organizations.
The event featured lectures from three faculty members and reflections from students and community members with ties to the region.
Kuzey Can Bektaş is a senior at IU. He said his hometown of Antakya is gone, "the city doesn’t really exist anymore."
Bektaş said his father, who is a war photographer, described what he saw as one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies in his memory.
Selim Yavuz, the president of the Turkish Student Association at IU, is from Kocaeli, a province about an hour and a half east of Istabul in the northern region of the country.
Yavuz's whole family still lives there and, thankfully, they are safe. But, he echoed Bektaş's sentiment, saying the whole country is devastated.
He described how many of his friends have lost everything – their homes, their loved ones, "sometimes whole families gone forever."
He recalled the İzmit earthquake of 1999 in his hometown and how difficult it was – but he said this disaster was so much more devastating, affecting not one city, but 10 big cities.
The Feb. 6 quake killed nearly 45,000 people in both countries — the vast majority of them in Turkey, where more than a million and a half people are in temporary shelters. Turkish authorities have recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks since.
Yavuz came to Monday's forum to show solidarity with the community and because he said he feels a responsibility to help rally Turks locally and around the world.
"The whole IU community has come together so quickly. Global engagement is critical – we have to work together across the world, no matter who we are, because we are all connected," Yavuz said.
The funds raised at the event will go to two nonprofit organizations working in affected areas: The Turkish Philanthropy Funds (for affected areas in Turkey) and the International Rescue Committee (for affected areas in Syria).
Donations made to the GoFundMe site developed by the Turkish Students Association and Bloomington Turkish Community will go to the Turkish non-profit Ahbap, in support of search and rescue efforts in the affected areas.