Humanitarian aid from Gloucester greeted with open arms in Turkey
The aid shipment was organised and driven there by Gloucester City Councillor Alastair Chambers, Sahin Tuncel and Dave Stewart, his son Daniel and Martin Humphreys.
Two lorry loads of aid from Gloucester have been welcomed with open arms in earthquake-stricken Turkey.
Major earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, killing more than 44,000 people and injuring more than 100,000.
And Gloucestershire residents have once again risen to the occasion to provide humanitarian aid to those suffering.
The aid shipment was organised and driven there by Gloucester City Councillor Alastair Chambers, Sahin Tuncel and Dave Stewart, his son Daniel and Martin Humphreys.
Cllr Chambers said they have been shown around the village of Hatay Hassa Aktepe.
Many of the buildings there have been completely reduced to rubble. He has heard countless harrowing stories about people who have lost their loved ones and all of their belongings because of the disaster.
“I’m at a refugee camp here for the village that was destroyed. There are many sad stories of families who have lost everyone.
“One young mother with her baby lost her husband, brother-in-law, mother, father and sister all in the same night.
“The family home and all their belongings have gone. All she has is the clothes she’s wearing and her baby. We’ve given her baby clothes, food, medicine such as Calpol.
“In some cases people are having to pull their neighbours’ bodies out of houses because the emergency services have not been able to get to the villages in the mountains.
“Rocks and boulders block the road. People are doing their best to get the bodies out.
“I just emptied out half a lorry of aid and serviced a whole village. There’s 400 people here and we’ve turned sad faces to happy faces.
“It has been overwhelming. It would not have been possible without the support of the people of Gloucester. The support from everyone who has donated their belongings.
“We’re going to keep going on and keep doing what we’re doing. We will be moving on to the next village and then assessing the situation. We are looking to donate the two lorries to the town’s mayor to help them.”