The earthquake disaster in Turkey was a month ago and most people are already thinking about other things. Murat Keles from Tilburg does not. He picked up his parents and sister from the disaster area and lost many relatives: “We will restore the buildings. But the generation that is now experiencing this is scarred for life.”
Murat’s parents and sister were in Antakya during the earthquake. The city was hit hard. Fortunately, they survived the disaster. Murat and his brother immediately boarded a plane to pick up their loved ones.
“We didn’t come to play the hero,” he recalls. He was in the disaster area for three days: “We quickly went there to help and pick up our parents. We experienced the misery from the side.”
“My sister wakes up at night thinking it’s an earthquake.”
How different this was for his parents and sister. “You see permanent signs with them. My sister suddenly wakes up at night from a small noise and then she thinks that everything is spinning around her, that it is an earthquake. From acquaintances who experience earthquakes more often, I hear that it never goes away. And then this is the light form.”
For example, Murat’s brother-in-law has experienced more intense things. “He had to pull his parents and cousins out from under the rubble. For the first few days he heard the sounds of the people lying under the rubble. He talks about care providers who had to make choices. I shivered when he told me his story.”
Every summer until he was eighteen, Murat went to Antakya with his parents in a van for six weeks. That creates a bond. That is less for his children: “They go to Turkey less often. But last year we went there.”
“Here he was found.”
Murat forwards a video. You see his son Sinan in the village shop with his second cousin Ismet. “They have become friends,” says Murat. His voice softens. “Ismet also died in a house. His aunt survived. But Ismet was in another room and there he died under the rubble.” Murat shows a photo of a huge pile of rubble, which used to be an apartment complex. In the photo, a large green arrow points to a spot in the rubble: “This is where he was found.”
Murat has started a fundraising campaign for his stricken family. Sinan also helps. He is a youth player at Willem II and received two worn shirts from the first team players Leeroy Owusu and Elton Kabangu that he was allowed to auction. The selection also contributed.
The campaign has already raised more than 20,000 euros in total. “With this we have been able to help about fifteen family members, friends and acquaintances. They have nothing left. With this money they can provide for their basic necessities.”
“I have a strong urge to go that way.”
The contributions have been decreasing lately. Murat understands. But he goes ahead with the action anyway. Next month, when it is Ramadan, he wants to return to the disaster area. “I have a strong urge to go that way. I want to build a large dining tent. To be together and ease the pain.”
Learn more about Murat and his family’s fundraiser can be found here.
READ ALSO: Mehmet lost family in earthquake disaster but parents are fortunately safe
