'Victims of Turkey and Syria earthquake need our support now - we should help'

11 February 2023 , 17:39

932     0

Mesut Hancer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who died in the earthquake (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

In the midst of unfathomable tragedy it is often the image of a single child that brings home the full horror of a conflict, crisis or disaster.

Like Phan Thi Kim Phùc, the nine-year-old Vietnamese girl running naked down a road after a napalm attack in 1972.

Or Birhhan Woldhu, the starving three-year-old Ethiopian girl who sparked the Live Aid efforts in 1985.

Then there was Alan Kurdi, the two-year-old Syrian refugee washed up on a beach after drowning with his family as they tried to escape the civil war.

This week it was the image of 15-year-old Irmak Hancer, trapped in the rubble of a collapsed apartment block in Turkey.

Horror fan sells doll's house version of serial killer Dennis Nilsen's home

Or rather it was the sight of her small, dead hand, clutched in that of her dead-eyed father, Mesut.

Adnan Mohammet Korkut was rescued in Gaziantep, southern Turkey (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Irmak and her family had been asleep in their home in Kahramanmaras when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit.

The building collapsed like a ­concertina, trapping everyone inside.

Rescue workers dug with pneumatic drills, angle grinders and then their bare hands – but it was too late to save Irmak.

So Mesut huddled on a ledge, holding his daughter’s hand waiting until her body could be freed and placed in his arms. It was an image of utter devastation – two lives symbolising the human tragedy of tens of thousands of others.

But, as the days passed, images of other children in Turkey and Syria brought tiny flickers of hope amidst the darkness.

Hatay was devastated by the earthquake (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The newborn babies pulled from the massive piles of debris, the toddlers ­rescued from icy concrete tombs by ­tireless rescue workers.

But while cries of “God is great!” welcomed each miraculous survival, the joy was only fleeting.

Because the people of Turkey and Syria have much more horror to endure in the unfathomable tragedy that has already claimed 22,000 lives. Freezing temperatures, lack of vehicles and ­devastated roads are hampering the rescue efforts.

And UN chief Antonio Guterres says the full extent of the catastrophe is still “unfolding before our eyes”.

New smoothie for dogs improves 'hydration and wellbeing' of our pooches

Destruction in Kahramanmaras city centre (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

But we must not turn away from the agonising images.

Because while the scale of this disaster seems utterly overwhelming, we can all do something to help.

By donating to the Disasters Emergency Committee we can help provide shelters, heaters, clean water, blankets, food and medical supplies.

We can also keep them in our prayers and support them as they rebuild their shattered lives.

And show the people of Turkey and Syria we are here to hold their hands.

Rachael Bletchly