Fundraising appeal set up in Harrogate Turkish restaurant

Staff at Konak Meze say they're desperate to do everything possible to help victims of the Earthquake

Author: Kathy GreenPublished 9th Feb 2023

Fundraising appeals have now been set up in North Yorkshire to help those impacted by the Earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Firat Bulut owns the Konak Meze Turkish restaurant in Harrogate where a percentage of every meal sold will go to help the victims.

He's got family back in Turkey and says they're facing horrendous conditions: "Of course they have to sleep outside for a couple of days in that cold weather, snowy, horrible, no blankets, no shelter, no where to stay. For this reason we do need to help and give donations for people who are in need."

Donation boxes have also been set up inside the restaurant to help get aid to victims. Firat says they felt like they had to act: "When I heard the earthquake happened first thing in the morning when I got up, my heart felt so upset, we just felt useless, but we are now doing as much as we can to help, with little extras hopefully we will get there."

More than 11,000 people have died after the devastating earthquakes rocked Turkey and Syria.

The first 7.8 magnitude earthquake happened before dawn on Monday, when many people would have been sleeping.

Rescue teams from around the world have travelled to both countries to help search for survivors.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said fatalities could reach as high as 20,000 in the coming days.

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