By Tanisha Agrawal, Staff Reporter

Videos of destruction caused by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria spread over social media platforms over the four past weeks. As of March 3, more than 50,000 people have died, hundreds remain under the rubble and thousands of buildings have collapsed. The people of Turkey and Syria are left vulnerable to temperatures that often dip below freezing.

TESD is home to Turkish students with family and friends impacted by the earthquake. Elif Naz Acar, a seventh grader at T/E Middle School, immigrated from Turkey four years ago. Three of her friends in Malatya, a city in Turkey that faced a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, were victims. 

To aid the people of Turkey, the president of the ECHOES club, senior Leyla Yilmaz, initiated relief donations at Conestoga. ECHOES is a community service club that has previously initiated donations for schools in Uganda and organized menstrual product drives for girls from marginalized communities. Yilmaz was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, and believes living far away is not an excuse to not help. 

The donation drive, held from Feb. 9 to Feb. 17 accepted winter clothing, blankets, canned and baby food, menstrual products, flashlights, tents, heaters and sleeping bags. ECHOES sent the donations to the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. 

“The turnout from ʼStoga was good; however, in general, there wasn’t an uproar, call for change (or) solidarity within the school bounds. Unfortunately, the West has grown pretty apathetic to the Middle East and the pain that they experience,” Yilmaz said.

Nevertheless, ECHOES adviser Shannon Roberts was impressed by the work of Yilmaz and other members of the club.  

“This (‘Stoga)  is the first school in my 21 years of teaching where I have seen students initiating something for another country,” Roberts said. “I remember one day when I was leaving school, the bins by the front door were all full; I was so excited to see that.”

Donations are based on needs expressed by the Turkish Embassy. Thus, ECHOES has halted donations as the embassy is uncertain about what Turkey currently needs. 

However, students can still extend help. Donations are open on platforms like Embrace Relief,  AHBAP, and  Penn Medicine. Another way to contribute is by buying donations through Amazon and directly delivering them to Turkish Embassay’s address in Washington D.C. More details can be found on their Instagram page. 

Amidst the grieving and destruction, as the Islamic month of Ramadan nears, students like Acar aim to dedicate their fast to understanding the sufferings of the people in Turkey and Syria.  

“I am comfortable in my house, but it is freezing in Turkey. I have enough food and water, but they don’t. This makes me scared, sad and frustrated,” Naz said. 

Yilmaz believes solidarity is of utmost importance in times of tremendous loss and grief. She hopes the attention the media and general public are giving to Turkey and Syria does not die down. Even years later, she believes, these people will still need help.

Tanisha Agrawal can be reached at [email protected].