TURKIYE — On Friday (10/2/2023), the Dompet Dhuafa team has landed at Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, Turkiye. They include the health team: dr. Sjarif Darmawan, Sp.B, dr. Zainab Aqila and dr. Rosmalia. In addition, there is also Narwan as the response action team and Dedi Fadlil as a humanitarian journalist who is under the coordination of Badan SAR Nasional (Basarnas) RI (the National SAR Agency RI).
Upon arrival, they immediately coordinated with various relevant parties to immediately carry out humanitarian response actions. Now, Monday (13/2/2023), is the fourth day of those five on duty to help the casualties in Turkiye.
Through a live stream on Radio Idola channel 92.6 FM (Indonesia) on Monday (13/2/2023, 11.00 WIB/06.00 local time), Dompet Dhuafa submitted a report related to the actions being strived, both by the Dompet Dhuafa team and by the combined humanitarian team in general.
On this occasion, Radio Idola connected Narwan as the Disaster Management Cente (DMC) humanitarian team in Turkiye and also dr. Yeni Purnamasari as the Coordinator of the Dompet Dhuafa Medical Team in Indonesia to broadcast to the viewers.
On his occasion, Narwan said that it was now the fourth day that he and the other Dompet Dhuafa team were in Hatay, Turkiye. Based on his visual observations, many buildings collapsed along the Dompet Dhuafa team’s road through the affected locations at several points in Hatay and Gaziantep.
He continued to tell the story, at that time, the team flew to Adana because the airport in Hatay was damaged due to the earthquake. Then from Adana to Hatay, they traveled by land. There, the impacts of the earthquake have begun to appear.
Then regarding the evacuation process that is still ongoing, there is a slight difference from the one in Indonesia. The evacuation was carried out for 24 hours with some time-sharing. Besides the scene or buildings that collapsed heavily, the cold weather factor also hampered the evacuation process. In addition, aftershocks also still occur several times. Even in Hatay, he continued, a small earthquake was felt the night before.
“Meanwhile, at the epicenter, there are still many small aftershocks. The good thing is, the SAR Team here is very well coordinated. For example, when the SAR Team called out the casualties (who may still be) alive among the cavities of the collapsed building, all activity fell silent. Not even a child’s voice was spoken. So that the SAR Team can hear and determine which points where there are still living casualties among the collapses,” explained Narwan.
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Domestically (Indonesia), Yeni explained, Dompet Dhuafa has carried out a campaign for humanitarian missions that are being conducted. Yesterday, Sunday (12/2/2023), Dompet Dhuafa held a Walk for Humanity on Car Free Day (CFD) in Jakarta.
“Some time ago, we distributed 100 food packages and 100 packages of warming blankets to the refugees. We are also still continuing to collect data on what is needed. In Turkiye we coordinate with AFAD. This is a part of our efforts to remain united in the unity of humanitarian action,” Yeni added.
It is now a week post-incident. The evacuation process is still ongoing until the next one month. This is due to the difficulty of the data collection process, because many people in Turkiye live in high-rise apartments, unlike in Indonesia, where families live in one house. It is also possible that the members of the apartments do not necessarily know each other, or even may not be recorded.
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The conditions are worsened by the onset of extreme winter, so prayers and support are really needed, both for the survivors and for the humanitarian team.
At the end of the session, Narwan said, “Please pray for the casualties affected in Turkiye, may they be given the fortitude to deal with this. The deceased may die in husnul khotimah (die in a good end).”
Good Friends of Dompet Dhuafa! The Turkiye-Syria earthquake survivors still need a helping hand of kindness. Let’s unite forces and strengthen solidarity in helping our brothers and sisters in Turkiye-Syria. Good friends can send help and prayers through the following page https://digital.dompetdhuafa.org/donasi/gempaturki. It is time for the world to Be Empowered to Face Disasters. (Dompet Dhuafa/Muthohar)