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Local Turkish organization raising money, awareness for earthquake-ravaged homeland

Men carry the body of an earthquake victim in Antakya, southeastern Turkey, Monday, February 13, 2023. Thousands left homeless by a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria a week ago packed into crowded tents or lined up in the streets Monday for hot meals as the desperate search for survivors entered what was likely its last hours. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Bernat Armangue/AP
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AP
Men carry the body of an earthquake victim in Antakya, southeastern Turkey, Monday, February 13, 2023. Thousands left homeless by a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria a week ago packed into crowded tents or lined up in the streets Monday for hot meals as the desperate search for survivors entered what was likely its last hours. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

As Turkey continues recovering from a disastrous earthquake that shook the country and neighboring Syria last week, killing more than 36,000 people, a local organization is doing its best to raise money and awareness for the country.

The Columbus-based non-profit group Turkish American Society of Ohio, or TASO, was founded in 2003 with goals that include uniting the Turkish-American community in Ohio and introducing Turkish culture to the larger community.

The group consists of about 100 families, many of them living in Dublin and surrounding areas. At a recent prayer event, TASO outreach coordinator Ali Kucuker brought up a photograph that has become one of the defining images of this tragedy: a picture showing a man holding the hand of his dead teenage daughter still trapped under rubble.

“His daughter was like, under the rubble and holding her hand, and no one was able to help them. And she, she died while the father was holding her hand. There are no words to explain this,” Kucuker said.

Right now, TASO's goal is to support the Turkish people in any way they can. That includes prayers and raising money for relief efforts. The group held a bake sale Sunday. They're also partnering with the humanitarian and disaster aid organization Embrace Relief, which claims to have raised over $870,000 for aid to Turkey and Syria.

As aid organizations try to bring much-needed relief to Turkey, the country’s leaders continue facing criticism of their handling of the disaster. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is being denounced by political rivals ahead of an upcoming election in Turkey.

At TASO’s recent prayer event, TASO member and civil engineer Ernie Kirk said everyone knows Turkey is an earthquake zone. Istanbul was rocked by a similar deadly quake in 1999, and Kirk said many of the buildings that collapsed last week were built after the 1999 quake. “Unfortunately, that part of the world, I'm not going to single out Turkey, that part of the world…the politicians are busy filling their pockets,” Kirk said.

The result, Kirk said, are building codes that aren't properly enforced and buildings that can't withstand significant tremors. “The world community needs to put pressure on the governments, particularly of earthquake zones in the world, because this could have been avoided by quite a bit,” Kirk said.

While the earthquake and killing of more than 36,000 people remains an unspeakable tragedy, TASO's outreach coordinator Ali Kucuker said one good thing has come out of it: The border between long-feuding Turkey and Armenia is now open for the first time in 35 years to allow aid to pass through.

And Kucuker says just the outpouring of support from all over the world has been overwhelming to see. “When you see people from Greece, Armenia, Israel (and) when you see people from far distances like China, I mean, it feels like it helps a lot,” he said.

“When people say something about Turkey on social media, I mean, I feel better. I really need it. I mean, right now, everyday, I mean, we cry right now. It is not easy,” Kucuker said.

Matthew Rand is the Morning Edition host for 89.7 NPR News. Rand served as an interim producer during the pandemic for WOSU’s All Sides daily talk show.