A Midlothian family has launched a fundraiser in the hopes of sending help to their home country after the deadliest earthquake in over a decade hit Turkey and Syria on Monday.
Ali Efkan Kaya, who moved from Turkey in 1996, has set up the fundraiser to help people in Elbistan - a province in the south of his home country. The Kaya family have relatives and friends in the area who have had their lives ‘devastated’ by the disaster.
As of Wednesday, the Turkish disaster management agency said the country’s death toll passed 8,500. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was impossible for a country to prepare for a disaster this big, with the 7.8 magnitude earthquake levelling huge swathes of Turkey.
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Ali told Edinburgh Live that people in Elbistan have been 'left to themselves', with three quarters of the area destroyed and thousands left homeless.
Ali, who lives in Rosewell with his parents and sisters, says they are determined to do what they can to help those back home. He told us: “My home is Elbistan, and the thing is no one is giving them any help.
“Many people thought after the first earthquake it was all over, so they went back home and then the second wave was even worse. There’s parts of my area with no houses, no apartments, no buildings left.
“There is still no rescue team, firefighters or soldiers in that area to help out people. Everyone is in a bad state.
“We have family members, uncles and aunties and cousins, who have been left with nothing. My cousin can’t even leave his hotel building because he is so scared.
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“Me and my family, we can’t go there now - but we are hoping to go in the next few weeks.”
Ali hopes the fundraiser can bring in enough money to get some food and temporary accommodation sorted for those in Elbistan. If they raise enough funds, he hopes they can build a new shelter home.
He continued: “We just want to do something for the people back home.
“There’s so many fundraisers going around, but we have family and friends that we really want to help. We’re going to collect money and then have an open discussion on how best to spend it.”
You can contribute to the Kaya families fundraiser here.
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