The Turkish singer Kemal Samat from Zaandam is in Turkey. He was supposed to record a video clip there, but that was of course deleted. “It’s terrible here,” says an upset Kemal, “friends of mine have lost relatives.”
Kemal is a singer from Zaandam who is a big star in Turkey. The Zaandammer reached the final of the Turkish Voice and scored a big hit with it Turkish song ‘Çingenem‘.
“I don’t know what else to say about it either,” says Kemal. “It has also taken us by surprise. We are doing our best to help where we can. It remains to be seen…”
‘Much sadness’
Kemal himself is in Istanbul to shoot a new video clip. He didn’t feel the earthquake. “Employees of the video clip and my assistant have left for the affected area to look for relatives. There is a lot of grief.”
According to Kemal, the roads to the affected area are partly impassable. “It is very difficult to reach those areas. Where my friends are now there is still no help because it is difficult to get there.”
Storm
The weather isn’t cooperating either. “In the affected area it is freezing cold and there is a storm,” says Kemal. “Even in Istanbul snow has fallen.” Kemal himself has no relatives in the area, but many friends who have relatives there.
The singer himself also intends to help. “We’re going to see if we can go there and help.” He is pleased to hear that all kinds of relief efforts have been started from the Netherlands. “I got a little emotional when I saw that.”