With the death toll rising in parts of Turkey and Syria, and thousands more injured or unaccounted for, relief efforts are proceeding at an urgent pace.
Nihat Selcuk is president of the Turkish Society of Rochester. They have been gathering and organizing donations at their building on Beahan Road in Chili, including winter gear and other items to send to Turkey.
Selcuk noted that the Rochester area has a large Turkish population, with about 4,500 people who have Turkish heritage in their background.
Selcuk said that there are a couple of different Turkish organizations in the Rochester area, and they are all working together to coordinate local relief efforts.
“A couple of different locations and spots but we’re all tied together in this purpose…we all know each other, all the communities are actually tied together around here,” said Selcuk.
Murat Al is president of another local organization, the Turkish Cultural Center of Rochester.
He is hearing from his contacts that parts of Turkey are devastated, with communications and transportation problems presenting a big issue.
“Some cities cannot be reached yet because the transportation channels are also damaged heavily and it’s also cold, in the middle of winter, people who are also suffering (from the conditions), and winter cold outside,” said Al.
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello has announced that there are collection boxes at the county office building and local DMV offices as part of this effort. They are looking for a variety of winter clothing, diapers, dry baby formula, non-prescription medication and cleaning supplies.
The Turkish Society of Rochester is coordinating shipments of supplies, and Selcuk said that the needs of people in the areas affected by the earthquake is “dire” and he said that “help is needed immediately.”
Donations will be sent out by the end of the day on Friday, Feb. 10.
