It’s been almost two years since the earthquakes that devastated much of southern Turkey. Two years of recovery, rebuilding and rehabilitation, and yet so much is still to be done. Still much of the people in Hatay, Turkey’s southern region, suffer daily the tragic results of the disaster. Thousands continue to live in container camps, like Remar’s own camp. And many live in conditions improper for healthy living.
Remar has been here on the ground for these two years. We’ve built a camp for the internally displaced people, provided them with medical care, clothes, hygiene and three hot meals a week.
It isn’t just the Turkish people who were affected. For over a decade Syrian refugees of war have been pouring into the country via Turkey’s southern border. They too lost so much during the earthquake, after already loosing so much to the Syrian civil war. Remar has not forgotten such people. We’ve been building bridges with the Syrian communities along the border, delivering aid such as clothes and food, as well as bringing a medical brigade to help many wounded by the war. Syrian slums still exist along the border, and we’ve brought them warm clothes to brace them for this winter.
The work in Turkey is far from over. The mental toll of both earthquake and war have left the Turkish and Syrian victims in need of a place to heal. People here need reassurance of stability. They need cleaner living conditions, proper health care, financial stability by getting jobs. Remar continues to strive to help all those still struggling, visiting camp after camp, family after family, person after person.
