A special wedding party awaits Annet Sturre from Odoorn: that of her son and Turkish daughter-in-law in Hatay. The province is far from recovered from the earthquake. Because Annet doesn’t want to go there just for a party, she is raising money for the earthquake victims.
First the marriage before the registry office in the Netherlands, with a party. And then to the family in Turkey for another party. That’s how Annet’s son Ruben (32) from Emmen and her Turkish daughter-in-law Melissa (31) came up with it. This way both sides could celebrate the union.
Last January the time had come – at least part one of the plan – and the yes word was heard at the Emmen town hall. The new bride flew back to her native country a few weeks later to make preparations for the wedding party. That was on the agenda in May, in Melissa’s father’s restaurant on the beach of Iskenderun, in Hatay province.
But things turned out differently. Melissa and her family were caught up in the massive earthquake that struck parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6.
Shaking and noise
“We were sleeping when we woke up to shaking and noise,” says Melissa. “We were afraid that the building would collapse and we jumped from the balcony onto the roof of the restaurant. The restaurant seemed safer to us because there is no floor on it.”
More than 50,000 people died, including several (former) colleagues of Melissa, who worked as a physiotherapist in Turkey. She and her family fared relatively well. They were not injured and while houses collapsed all around them, theirs remained standing.
“My sister’s house was seriously damaged and even declared uninhabitable. She was in Germany at the time,” says Melissa. “And one of my mother’s cousins was buried under the rubble, but was rescued after one day. She only had minor injuries.”
Announcement of wedding party
Melissa really wanted to return to the Netherlands, to Ruben, but her visa had not yet been finalized. She no longer dared to sleep in her parental home. Moreover, there was no more electricity or water there. She decided to stay with her uncle in Ankara for a few months, where it was safer.
And she put an end to the wedding party.
A preliminary line. Now that they are a year later, Melissa and Ruben still want to celebrate their love in Iskenderun.
Great, says mother Annet, who will be there. But soon after the announcement, something started to bother her. The area is still struggling with the consequences of the earthquake. Reconstruction is going slowly and many people still live in containers and tent camps. Most have lost everything.
‘It doesn’t feel good to go here just for a party’
“Even now, after one year, it is still a disaster area. It doesn’t feel right to go here just for a party. I also want to do something for these people,” she says.
That is why she has started a fundraising campaign for the victims. She has arranged with the church in Odoorn that her campaign is one of the three charities of the Spring Festival on April 6. She stands there with Turkish snacks, which she makes with her daughter-in-law and a few other Turkish women from the neighborhood. She has also set up crowdfunding via Whydonate.nl.
She gives the proceeds to the local relief organization Hatay Yardim Ekibi. “This organization helps earthquake victims with all kinds of things. There is a lack of water, food, hygiene products and clothing. I can also give the money to the Red Cross, but I really want it to end up in this area – Hatay province.”
She has been following Hatay Yardim Ekibi on social media for a while and recently saw a documentary about the organization on the German television channel ARD, from Weltspiegel . “Then you really see how great the need is and what is needed.”
‘Show that they have not been forgotten’
What kind of return does she expect? She doesn’t know. She hopes for tens of thousands of euros. In that case, she has a second use for the money: prosthetics for the hospital.
“There is a great need for that. Many people have lost limbs because they were buried under the rubble and could only be freed by amputation. But that goal only comes into focus when tens of thousands of euros come in, you know. The aid organization is the most important thing for now. He can use all the help he can get. They themselves say that they have been forgotten. I hope we can show that this is not the case.”