The massive earthquakes in Turkey and Syria claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people and left a great havoc in the affected area. Help not only comes from the Turkish and Syrian community, Tonny van de Ven (38) from Heiloo has also started a fundraising campaign together with his motorcycle club, at HAL 25 in Alkmaar. “Images of people being pulled out of the rubble touch us deeply. We have to do something now and we have no time to lose.”
A strong earthquake in southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, caused dozens of buildings to collapse overnight from Sunday to Monday, killing and injuring thousands. Strong aftershocks also occurred in the following days.
People are still being pulled out of the rubble and in several places in the area it is difficult to get help.
Men with a mission
After the war with Russia broke out last year, the Alkmaar motorcycle club also took action for Ukrainian victims. They did this by setting up collection points at Hal25 in Alkmaar and Egmond aan Zee. “As long as that war lasts, we will continue to offer our help. We are now going to tackle it just as big as last year,” Tonny responds.
Read the story here about how this group of friends did everything they could to help their three buddies in Kiev last year:
The men also contacted the organization of HAL 25 for this relief campaign. “The idea was immediately embraced there,” says Tonny. “Relief items, such as clothing, blankets and diapers can be delivered next Monday and Tuesday between noon and five o’clock in the afternoon.”
Whether the collection point remains open for a longer period of time depends on how busy it is. “There seems to be less attention for this than with the war in Ukraine,” says Tonny. “That shouldn’t be possible, man.”
From Alkmaar to Turkey
To get all the stuff to the affected area, the help of a mosque in Utrecht has been enlisted. There, too, volunteers are busy with a large fundraising campaign. “They have the right contacts and also take care of the transport to Turkey and Syria.”
The Heiloo residents are even considering traveling to the disaster area. “I just want those things to end up really well. They can certainly use all the help, maybe I can do something for them there too.”