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A British Columbia girl who misplaced practically a dozen relations within the devastating earthquake in Turkey has returned to Vancouver after a visit to her hometown, and stated the area stays desperately in want of assist.
Nural Sumbultepe misplaced 10 family within the quake, together with six speedy relations.
“Six very expensive to my coronary heart that I see on a regular basis after I go house and that I talk with nearly on a weekly foundation from Canada,” she stated.
“Who am I going to mourn in the present day? On daily basis I take into consideration certainly one of them intimately.”
Sumbultepe returned to Canada from the town of Iskenderun, which was devastated by the catastrophe, on Wednesday.
Whereas in Turkey, she toured the devastation, visited navy websites and supplied as a lot assist as she was capable of her household, and anybody else she may assist.
“I actually collapsed — my legs didn’t maintain me — after I noticed the destruction,” she stated, including that she was on the bottom for one more terrifying earthquake whereas within the nation.
“I needed to go to lots of graves, as you may think about, and I supported my sister who misplaced very shut speedy relations and my niece who wanted assist along with her two youngsters … I visited lots of what we name tent cities, the place individuals had been dwelling in containers and tents.”
Because the demise toll in Turkey and Syria surpasses 50,000, the monumental tragedy is changing into a rising humanitarian disaster. Requires worldwide assist proceed amid allegations of negligence and corruption towards each nation’s governments.
Sumbultepe stated the journey to Turkey left her with quite a few considerations in regards to the state of affairs on the bottom.
Efforts to get assist like shelter and water to survivors has been gradual, she stated, and many individuals have been left with out vital fundamentals. The navy has been gradual to reply, and transparency is missing on the billions of {dollars} raised for aid, she stated.
“I nonetheless don’t perceive why persons are nonetheless homeless, why they nonetheless don’t have shelter and clear water and tents,” she stated.
“What the world doesn’t know is a few individuals who had been rescued, they froze to demise.”
Sumbultepe stated there’s rising anger in regards to the obvious failure of presidency to implement earthquake security codes carried out after the lethal 1999 Istanbul earthquake.
In Iskenderun, there have been lethal constructing collapses in six neighbourhoods the place she stated building ought to by no means have been allowed within the first place.
The 15-storey constructing her sister-in-law lived and died in additionally seems to have been constructed too tall for its location, opposite to code.
With an election scheduled for this spring, she stated the federal government seems to be dashing to rebuild, with out consulting seismologists, l metropolis planners and native leaders, elevating considerations a couple of repeat of the catastrophe sooner or later.
Learn extra:
Turkey and Syria rocked by another earthquake, killing at least 3 and injuring hundreds
Sumbultepe stated she’s profoundly grateful for the monetary help her fellow British Columbians have supplied for these affected by the tragedy.
However she stated there’s way more Canada can do to assist.
“I’d actually prefer to see Canada maintain that promise … about rebuilding and repairing,” she stated.
“And I’d prefer to encourage the Canadian authorities to speak with the Turkish authorities about cautious planning.”
Again in Vancouver, Sumbultepe stated she’s nonetheless struck with grief anytime she finds herself alone. However she’s already planning her subsequent journey, with hopes of heading again to help her household in a matter of weeks.
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