A WEST Belfast man is asking for supplies and aid to help victims of the earthquake which has devastated Turkey and Syria and left upwards of 35,000 people dead.
Ensar Yildiz, who owns Sultan’s Turkish Barbers on the Andersonstown Road and his friend Sedat Felekoglu are preparing a lorry to send aid to the region.
Ensar is from Altinkum but he has extended family who live in Hatay and Adiyaman in South-Eastern Turkey, a region which has been all but flattened by the earthquake.
Ensar has just returned from a trip to see his parents in Altinkum and has found out that members of his extended family have been killed in the earthquake.
Ensar said: “Adiyaman was destroyed, there is only about five per cent of buildings left. There is no water or electricity. The roads are destroyed and they cannot get planes in and out of the airport. My mother’s cousin, his wife and their child were trapped in rubble in Hatay and they sadly did not survive. It’s very sad, they were a very young family.”
Prior to this appeal Ensar arranged for an earlier shipment of aid to be sent over to Turkey, which was arranged through the Turkish embassy in Dublin.
Since then, more aid has been donated by local people and Ensar is arranging for a lorry to deliver it to Turkey. He said to take the aid to Turkey he most go through a registered charity and he is working at the moment to secure the paperwork to ensure the aid and driver will be able to get into the affected areas unhindered.
HEARTBREAK: Local barber Ensar Yildiz has told of the death of his mother's cousin, Bahri Nevruz, his wife Esena and son Ilgaz in the town of Hatay in southern Turkey
Ensar is also planning to head out again to Turkey in the coming weeks.
Ensar said they are asking for donations of tinned non-perishable food, warm winter clothing, women’s hygiene products, sleeping bags, tents, camping ground mats, vegetarian baby food (jars or pouches), nappies, Sudocrem, alcohol-free wipes and power banks.
Donations can be accepted at Sultan’s Turkish Barbers on the Andersonstown Road, opposite the Wolf and Whistle.
Ensar also asked for anyone who has access to a lorry or who could volunteer as a driver to get in touch in case there is a surplus for another trip.
You can donate to Ensar and Sedat’s JustGiving page here:
Correction: In our print edition 18/2/22 we wrongly quoted Ensar as saying Altinkum was destroyed. This was a mistake on our part as Ensar correctly told us Adiyaman was destroyed. Our apologies to him.
