Race against cold and the clock
South African rescuers describe horror as cries for help grow fainter
SURROUNDED by mounting death, destruction and despair, rescue workers are racing against time and icy weather to save as many people as possible after this week’s devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.
As the cries of those buried under the debris grow fainter, lives are now threatened by growing cold and hunger. Yesterday the death toll rose to more than 22 000.
Also yesterday, Reuters reported that a woman and a male Syrian refugee in Türkiye were rescued after more than 100 hours of being buried under rubble.
Several South African humanitarian organisations and volunteers are in the region where they are trying to assist survivors whose lives were demolished.
Journalist and humanitarian Azhar Vadi from the Salaam Foundation left South Africa for Türkiye on Monday, soon after the news of the tragedy came to light. He told the Independent on Saturday that everywhere people were just sitting out in the open, dazed and confused about how their lives had been destroyed in the blink of an eye.
He said Istanbul and surrounding areas were unaffected – the southern parts of the country had taken the heaviest battering and apartment buildings had “crumbled like cakes”.
Vadi said casualty numbers were rising exponentially and in one area at least 7 000 high-rise apartment buildings had been destroyed.
“Given that it was at 4am and everyone was sleeping, and the earthquakes took just a few seconds, nobody would have had the time to escape.”
He said some people were now living in their cars and in Türkiye, schools, mosques and community centres which had not been destroyed were being used to house people.
“It’s just tons and tons of rubble. Even the idea of trying to assist using your bare hands fades very quickly because you know you are not going to be able to move anything. Families and relatives are using small hammers, picks and shovels to try to move (rubble), but it is impossible, you need heavy, earth-moving machinery.”
Vadi said wherever they went, people were media shy and in the grip of trauma: “Everyone has lost somebody”.
One of the NGO relief workers had managed to escape to safety from a crumbling building while cradling his son in his arms, but his wife and the rest of his family were still inside.
Vadi said the Salaam Foundation had been working with Turkish NGO IHH in Syrian refugee camps for a considerable time and were currently assisting earthquake survivors with food and shelter.
Other team members from South Africa would be joining them.
The IHH had a prefabricated co-ordination centre which housed humanitarian teams from around the world.
“They’ve given us a mat and a blanket and a spot under a table for the night,” he said.
“The Syrian refugees have been through a lot over the past 12 years and now this has compounded their misery. For the people of Türkiye, they’ve been assisting the Syrian refugees and now suddenly they also need help,” he said.
In South Africa, other members of the Salaam Foundation were fund-raising and gathering supplies, especially baby food, nappies and formula for refugees and children who no longer had mothers.
One of the most heart-breaking stories was of a baby born under the rubble. Rescue workers found her still attached to her dead mother’s umbilical cord, while the rest of her family had also died. The infant girl survived.
In South Africa, Vadi’s foundation colleague, Fatima Sookharia, said the shocking videos and images of children trapped under rubble from Türkiye and Syria had left an indelible mark on their hearts and everyone was feeling a little helpless. She urged South Africans to participate in the #Lemonade2 Türkiye and Syria Earthquake Campaign by selling lemonade and other items at a number of venues which had agreed to be part of the campaign. Details are at salaamfoundation.com and the money would be used to buy supplies.
Penny Appeal South Africa CEO Shahnaaz Paruk said when news of the earthquakes hit they were immediately ready to assist, as they had pre-planned a trip to take winter supplies to remote refugee camps.
Paruk said the death toll was expected to rise over the next 48 hours, and the situation was dire because many of the areas where help was most needed were inaccessible.