State’s Turkish community helping earthquake victims
WEST HAVEN — Cansu Citlak fell asleep Sunday night knowing that an earthquake had struck her native land of Turkey.
But in a region of the world where quakes are relatively common, Citlak, 29, said she initially did not grasp the severity of the devastation. “I didn’t really understand how big of an earthquake it was because it’s in a country where earthquakes always happen,” she said.
As photographs and videos showing the extent of the damage began appearing on her social media timelines the next morning, Citlak realized that this was no ordinary tremor. “That’s when it hit me that this is serious,” she added.
Since the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that decimated large swaths of Turkey and parts of Syria this week, flattening buildings and killing more than 22,000 people and counting, Citlak and other members of the local Turkish community have been mobilizing resources in response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
To support the earthquake victims in Turkey, Citlak and her father Ahmet Kangal, who owns Elm Diner in West Haven and Three Brothers Diner in Hamden, have been collecting donations at both of those restaurants. Customers at the Elm Diner contributed more than $500 in two days, and Kangal has generated another $12,000 from a separate fundraiser among his friends and family.
The donations are considerable in Turkey, where one American dollar is equivalent to about 19 lira, the country’s official currency. Currently, 19 lira is enough to buy more than two loaves of fresh white bread, and eggs cost 30 lira.
“The way we look at it, every penny counts and people are in need over there,” Kangal said. “They need from A to Z, and every bit we can help, that’s what we want to do.”
The couple also are accepting items such as winter clothes, hygiene products, tents, and sleeping bags, all of which they drop off at the Diyanet Mosque in New Haven. The mosque then transports the goods to one of the Turkish embassies in New York or Boston, which ships them to Turkey.
Items most needed, they said, include baby diapers and formula, wet napkins, aspirin and portable phone chargers.
Kangal’s operation has been aided by his brother, Nazim Kangal, who is on the ground in Turkey distributing relief to those living in the most affected areas. Nazim Kangal had been visiting Turkey when the earthquake struck, Ahmet Kangal said. Instead of flying home earlier this week like he planned, Nazim Kangal extended his stay so he could help. Turkey’s Black Sea Region, where the Kangals are from and where Nazim Kangal had been staying, avoided the wrath of the quake’s epicenter.
Video taken by Nazim Kangal and shared with his brother shows a large warehouse containing racks of clothes and other items set to be handed out to displaced Turks. Some of the supplies being distributed was purchased with money that Ahmet Kangal raised back home and transferred to his brother in Turkey.
Ahmet Kangal's 10-yearold daughter also is interested in getting involved in the relief efforts. While driving her to school this week, Kangal said his daughter became emotional as they discussed the earthquake’s toll in Turkey. “Every time we watch TV or we start talking about it, I see the tears in her eyes,”
Kangal said.
Kangal said his daughter asked her teacher for permission to start a school fundraiser to benefit earthquake victims, and staff members were expected to discuss the proposal at a Thursday night Parent Teacher Association Meeting. “She was very excited what decision they were going to make,” Kangal said.
Citlak said she and Kangal would continue collecting at their establishments for as long as victims need help. “They are trying to save lives under the rubble,” Citlak said. “Nothing has ended yet. We don’t know how long it’s going to take.”
After finishing his breakfast in a corner booth at the Elm Diner, Jay Majors, who owns Major League Barbershop in West Haven, handed Citlak and Kangal a check for their fundraiser. Majors said he had been watching the devastation play out in Turkey and wanted to pledge his support.
“I have a Turkish barber and the Turkish community has been really good to me,” Majors said. “I believe in giving back.”
In New Haven, another Turkish-owned restaurant was raising money for earthquake victims on Thursday. Kadir Catalbasoglu, who owns Brick Oven Pizza on Howe Street, said he would donate all of his sales that day toward the cause. “The people need it right now,” Catalbasoglu said. “We just want to show our appreciation to the community and the place I came from.”
Joe Spellman said he was ordering from the pizzeria for the first time, drawn there out of a desire to help Turks in need. Spellman, a retired director of international enrollment at the University of New Haven, said he had traveled to Turkey numerous times during his 35-year career, speaking to international students about studying in America, making many Turkish friends along the way.
“I’m just shocked by all of this,” Spellman said. “People in Turkey are just amazing people.”
Realtor Carol Evans walked out of the pizzeria on Thursday holding a stack of pizza boxes that she planned to bring back to the office for her coworkers. “When I saw (the fundraiser), I just wanted to be a part of it,” she said.
Florita Gillespie, chairwoman of New Haven's Dwight Central Management Team, said Catalbasoglu's business regularly catered the group’s functions, including its two annual festivals. Gillespie said she bought pizza Thursday to show support and return the favor. “Anytime something happens, good or bad, we support each other,” she said.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., was scheduled to visit the Diyanet Mosque in New Haven Friday afternoon in support of the relief campaign.
“Absolutely sickening news coming from Türkiye & Syria,” Blumenthal tweeted Monday morning “My thoughts are with the victims. A coalition of humanitarian aid, led by the U.S., should engage in rescue & recovery.”
Those who are interested in donating to earthquake victims can drop off money or supplies at the Elm Diner in West Haven or Three Brothers Diner in Hamden. They also can donate directly to the Diyanet Mosque at 531 Middletown Ave. in New Haven.