Donegal aid worker
in Turkey
20.02.23
A DONEGAL aid worker has
described the devastation caused by the recent
earthquakes in southern Turkey where he is part of the
emergency response.
Paul Carr from Cranford, whose sister is senior Donegal
footballer Niamh Carr, flew to the earthquake zone just
days after the disaster as part of an emergency response
team with the humanitarian organisation Concern
Worldwide. |
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|
Paul Carr (centre) in
southern Turkey with his Concern colleagues. |
He was working in Rwanda
when the 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck in
parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday, February 6. The
death toll is currently over 46,000 people and millions
have been left homeless. “I didn’t know what to expect,
but the absolute scale of the devastation is just hard
to comprehend,” said Paul.
“The size of the earthquake zone worst impacted in
Turkey is roughly the length and breadth of Ireland. It
is from top to bottom the distance from Letterkenny to
Cork City. So many people have died, are injured or left
homeless. It’s just so tragic.
“Millions of people are affected and what happens next
is a huge question. You can just imagine how terrible it
would be if an earthquake like this hit Ireland.” |
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|
Paul Carr (right) with
Concern's emergency operations director Ros O'Sullivan
in Turkey. |
Paul has been working from
Concern’s office in Sanliurfa, a building deemed to be
structurally safe, where he also sleeps at night on a
couch. “The office had a lot of staff who had nowhere
else to go. From where I am currently located, there are
a number of buildings that have collapsed,” he said.
“The vast majority of people are sleeping in tents and
community centres and some in cars. Many people went
through a lot of trauma too and scared to go into
buildings, which is completely normal and
understandable.
“I am in awe of my own colleagues here and of the first
responders and the countless survivors who are doing
what they can to survive and support each other. I have
been keeping in touch with family back home. My mother
says she doesn’t watch the news so much and waits for
dad to give updates, but I am fine and just honoured to
be here to do what I can to help.”
Concern launched an emergency appeal for Turkey and
Syria and urges anyone who would like to support it to
go to www.concern.net
or to call 0818 410 510. |
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