An East Lancashire man, who is delivering aid to victims of the Turkey and Syrian earthquakes, has shared the horrific stories and sights from his time in the countries.
Burnley’s Foysol Al Kaatib Uddin, who has been fundraising and volunteering for charity Global Relief Trust (GRT) for two years, was sent to provide aid in Turkey and Syria last week.
This is after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on February 6 which is currently known to have killed more than 47,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Foysol said his experience in the countries has been “surreal” and “like a horror movie”.
He said: “It’s like a real life horror movie that you’re on the set of – it doesn’t feel real but it is.
“We’re sleeping in tents and I am sleeping with one eye open. You just never know what could happen in the middle of the night as these earthquakes struck in the early hours of the morning.”
Foysol said he was in the Hatay province of Turkey weeks before the earthquake, where he provided aid and met some orphans.
The 32-year-old has since returned to the same areas and says many of the orphans he got to know died in the disaster.
He said: “I was here in this same place two weeks prior to the earthquakes. I have seen the buildings while they were standing and I was playing football with the orphans there.
“I have visited the same places since and more than 100 the orphans I met have passed away. They died under the rubble.
“Entire schools have collapsed including the Abu Hanifah Centre, which Global Relief Trust funded.
“Some of my Global Relief Trust colleagues have passed away too.
“People are making fires from their own clothes. Residents here have so many tragic stories.
“There are truly no words to describe what it is like.”
Foysol, who works as an Arabic calligrapher when he isn’t volunteering, says displaced Syrians are not receiving as much help and aid as those in Turkey.
While Syria was not as badly affected by the earthquakes, Foysol says people here are “traumatised”.
He said: “Not many charities are going into Syria so they are lacking in aid. One thing I have noticed is that while the infrastructure is not as badly hit the people here are more traumatised.
“If there is even a little shake people start screaming and panicking. I have heard reports of people jumping from balconies out of sheer panic.
“In Syria they have moved from the earthquake hit areas to over some mountains.
“We had to travel over rocky mountain for hours to get there. Once there we built tents with our own hands and provided them with food and water.”
“In Syria fresh water is such a blessing as there are a lot of diseases in the water.”
Foysol, who has raised more than £1.4million for GRT in the last two years, is encouraging the public to keep supporting the earthquake victims.
He said: “People over here need your donations now more than ever. Full towns and cities have been decimated and need rebuilding.
“We need to rebuild Turkey and Syria and help bring their schools back.
“We also need to keep spreading awareness of what is happening over there.”
In affected areas, GRT has already distributed more than 35,000 hot meals, 3,000 mattresses and blankets and moved more than 700 families into temporary accommodation.
A spokesperson for the GRT said: “GRT has a long-standing reputation for providing critical support for those who need it the most and Junaid’s presence on the ground is a testament to the organisation’s commitment to alleviating the suffering of those affected by disasters and conflicts.”
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