(PLO)- “Vietnamese people have a tradition of mutual love and affection… this has motivated me to act,” said Duong Nam Phuong, after calling for nearly 60 boxes of clothes and food to support him. help Turkey overcome the disaster.
On the morning of February 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the border between Turkey and Syria. This is one of the strongest earthquakes in this area in nearly a century.
According to updated data from Turkey, the devastating earthquake affected 13 million people in 10 provinces of this country, and the death toll in the disaster surpassed 28,000 (figures as of November 11). -2).
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A woman stands in front of a damaged building after an earthquake in the city of Gaziantep (Turkey) on February 7. Photo: REUTERS |
Great shock after the disaster
Living in Mersin City, Turkey for more than 8 years, Nguyen Thi Nga (32 years old) is still in shock after the tragedy. She said, Mersin city is more than 150 km from the earthquake center, but on the day of the tragedy, she still felt strong tremors.
“At 4 am on February 6, when my family was sleeping, I felt the first tremor. Due to our previous experience, we immediately ran out of the house. By the afternoon of the same day, I felt the tremor for the second time. Fearing that the building would collapse due to the earthquake, my family had to stay in the car,’ she recalled.
From the day she got married to a Turkish citizen and settled here, Nga regularly “experienced” many earthquakes from large to small, sometimes only from 3-5 magnitude and the largest only about 6 magnitude. At that time, furniture and houses only shook for a moment and then stopped, without causing much damage or casualties.
“This is the first time I have witnessed such a great tragedy in this country. This place is currently suffering from a blizzard, so the relief work is difficult, the Turkish government has mobilized people to go to a concentration camp in another city and supported 10,000 lira (nearly 530 USD) for families. Nga shared.
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Rescue work is still actively underway. Photo: AP |
More than 1,500 km from the disaster center, Phuong Anh (27 years old, living in Istanbul, Turkey) said she did not feel much tremors. As usual, her family watched the news at 7 a.m. and were shocked to hear of the earthquake in southeastern Turkey.
“I immediately called to inquire about a friend who is currently in the affected area and heard that her parents and brother had passed away. It is very sad that many people here are suffering from the tragedy of the earthquake and losing their families,” said Phuong Anh.
She shared that Turkey is in national mourning and the atmosphere here is gloomier than usual, people in other cities are trying to gather things, clothes and expenses to support victims of natural disasters. .
Duong Nam Phuong (33 years old, living in Istanbul, Turkey) confided that the Turkish people are still in shock after the disaster.
“There is a gloomy atmosphere in the whole country of Turkey right now. On the train, I felt a chilling silence, no one talked on the board, everyone was just watching intently on the phone about the rescue of victims after the disaster “- Mr. Phuong said.
Vietnamese community in Turkey join hands to support
Duong Nam Phuong is currently the administrator of a Vietnamese community group in Turkey. He said that there are more than 150 Vietnamese people living in this country. Immediately after the disaster, people kept texting to ask and encourage each other and fortunately up to now, no Vietnamese people have suffered casualties.
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Mr. Duong Nam Phuong (first from the right) brings relief goods from the Vietnamese community of individuals and businesses to a gathering point in Turkey. Photo: NVCC |
He shared that he came to Turkey in 2009 as an international student, then got married and settled here for nearly 15 years, for Mr. Phuong, this country is the second nation.
“When I heard the news of the earthquake and the number of casualties, I was shocked and saddened, thinking back to the Vietnamese people, who have a tradition of mutual love and support for compatriots in times of trouble, this has inspired me. I act, call for support and donations,” Phuong confided.
Soon after, he posted information on the Vietnamese Community in Turkey page to call for donations and received many support. The first batch, he collected four boxes of clothes with more than 700 sets of winter clothes and handed them over to the Turkish Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).
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The boxes are affixed with two national flags with the words “Get well soon, Turkey!”. Photo: NVCC |
“When I gave donations to AFAD, they were surprised to ask where I came from, why I speak Turkish so well. I share that I come from Vietnam and my hometown has a long tradition of mutual love and affection. They then thanked the Vietnamese people and expressed their joy at receiving the support of the international people,” said Phuong.
After the first round of support, a number of companies and organizations knew about it, so they continued to seek out Mr. Phuong’s team to offer to act as the focal point to support disaster victims. As of February 10, he has received 50 boxes of food and 4 boxes of adult winter clothes donated by the community.
“All 54 boxes of goods have been delivered to the Bakirkoy district government, Istanbul city to be delivered to support victims of the disaster area. This action is completely out of sincerity, from the heart and the joy of empowering the difficult people of our compatriots”- Mr. Phuong emphasized.
Recently, 100 soldiers of the People’s Public Security and the Vietnam People’s Army also set out for Turkey to carry out the task of searching and rescuing people in the earthquake.
Including 24 officers and soldiers of the Ministry of Public Security and 76 soldiers of the Ministry of National Defense. Specifically, 30 people belong to the Military Medical Team under the General Department of Logistics; 30 people from the Rescue Team of the Army Corps of Engineers; 9 trainers and commanders and 6 sniffer dogs from the Search and Rescue Dog Team; The command department and the agency consisted of 7 people.
Brigade 971 gathered 35 tons of material for the force to help Turkey
(PLO)- The 971th Transport Brigade of the Department of Transport transported and gathered all 35 tons of logistics material to ensure the Vietnam People’s Army forces participated in overcoming the consequences of the earthquake in Turkey. .
BAO PHUONG