Winnipegger mourns grandparents killed in earthquake

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This article was published 07/02/2023 (1018 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Winnipegger Zehra Farsakoglu heard thousands had died after an earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, she feared for her family’s safety.

Upon calling her parents in Turkey, she learned the quake had claimed the lives of her grandparents.

“I didn’t know it was going to be me. I didn’t know it was everywhere,” she said.

Her maternal grandmother and grandfather, Ayyus and Abdulvahap Ersoz, lived in a three-storey building in the coastal province of Hatay, which was reported to be the worst-hit province in the country.

Her cousins searched the rubble and found their grandmother’s body.

“They just had to leave her there and wait for the rescue… my grandpa, they couldn’t even see him. We don’t know where he is,” she said.

On Tuesday, the death toll surpassed 7,000.

Farsakoglu, who immigrated to Winnipeg 21 years ago, hopes rescue teams will search the building in the coming days, but said officials are only beginning to enter the province because roads and infrastructure were destroyed.

She fears recovering her grandparents’ bodies won’t be a priority.

“They first focus on the places where they hear people’s voices call for help, and there are so many, so many buildings,” she said.

Many of her family members still live in Turkey; her parents and siblings live in Istanbul and are safe. Her uncle, who lives in the city of Osmaniye, lost his home in the quake.

Farsakoglu said she’ll remember her grandmother as good-humoured and young at heart. As per Muslim tradition, people are ideally buried as soon as possible, but she must wait for her to be recovered. Despite the odds, she holds out hope her grandfather survived.

“I’m still hoping, a little part of me still hopes, maybe, my grandpa is still alive, somehow,” she said. “I’m waiting for the news.”

Locally, the Islamic Social Services Association will hold a fundraising dinner next week.

“All the food will be donated, so every contribution will go to help people in Turkey and Syria,” said executive director Shahina Siddiqui.

“It’s hard to put into words how I feel seeing the devastation,” she said. “There is so much loss of life.”

The association recommends Winnipeggers donate to Islamic Relief Canada and the Canadian non-profit International Development and Relief Foundation.

The Winnipeg Grand Mosque will include a special prayer for the victims and their families during its Friday service.

The Manitoba Islamic Association is appealing for donations on behalf of Islamic Relief Canada.

“International aid is needed now in order to reach and save as many lives as possible,” Islamic Relief says on its website.

A donation of $130 will provide a cash grant for a family to buy essentials; $150 can provide a food pack for a displaced family; and $275 can provide two families with emergency shelter. (Donations can be made at www.miaonline.org.)

Canadian Lutheran World Relief is appealing for donations through its membership in the Humanitarian Coalition.

“Our hearts break for the millions who have already been through so much,” said spokesman David Turner.

“Our local Syrian partners were out there in the hours right after the quake, giving out blankets to people who… are suddenly homeless in sub-zero weather. Today they’re still getting blankets out there, serving hot food and getting medical care to people who have been injured, while they assess what the priorities are going to be for the days, weeks and months ahead.”

Donations can be made at www.clwr.org.

Mennonite Central Committee is also appealing for funds. “We are consulting our partners in Syria about how to respond,” said marketing director Laura Kalmar.

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The organization, which has worked in Syria for 10 years, knows it will be there for the long haul.

“There will be so much trauma as a result of the earthquake,” she said. “When the news cycle moves on, we will still be there to help.”

(Donations can be made at www.mcc.org.)

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg's North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020.

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John Longhurst
Faith reporter

John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.

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