Nova Scotians grieve dead, stranded loved ones in Syria and Turkey

Nihal Ciplak and Muzaffer Deveci are going to work at their restaurant, Turkish Delight, in Halifax, as they would on any other day — but they feel broken inside.

They lost a sister, a sister-in-law and a niece in the earthquakes in Turkey last week. Their relatives' remains were found in the rubble of apartment buildings in the İskenderu, in the Hatay province.

"It's been a lot on our family. Just death after death after death," said Deveci through tears during an interview with CBC.

She said the family lost three other members to other causes earlier this year.

Several Nova Scotians from the Syrian and Turkish communities have either lost relatives to the devastating earthquakes, or are living in fear of receiving news of a loved one's death. The death toll from the two earthquakes surpassed 40,000 on Tuesday.

Deveci said her surviving relatives are facing health complications after being rescued from the rubble.

"They're still having such bad symptoms of just being crushed by all that material and the things that they've been breathing," she said.

She said her relatives there don't have power and can't buy food.

"There's nothing coming in for them, food-wise," Deveci.

"We just feel so helpless."

The Turkish Society of Nova Scotia is fundraising for a local Turkish charity that provides food, shelter and medical supplies to those in need.

Burcu Kaptan, the president of the society, said most Nova Scotians of Turkish descent are first-generation immigrants, so the tragedy overseas is hitting close to home.

"Everybody knows someone who lost their lives or knows people who have lost their homes."

The group was helping co-ordinate the search effort of Samar Zora, a 33-year-old Halifax woman who was living in Antakya, Turkey, when the earthquakes struck.

Her brothers flew to Turkey to find her. After an arduous journey, they found her remains in the rubble of her building on Tuesday.

Pregnant and homeless 

Mohammad Alouch is worried for his sister, Noor Alouch, who is eight months pregnant and stranded in Gaziantep, Turkey with her husband and two young children.

Mohammad and his family immigrated to Chester, N.S., as Syrian refugees in 2019. The Canadian government approved Noor's immigration papers a year ago but hasn't processed them yet.

Now she's homeless and in need of urgent medical care.

"It makes everyone sad because her health is not good and the baby is not good either and she has to have surgery and we don't know how that will go," said Mohammad.

He said his aunts and uncles also lost their homes in the earthquakes.

"The past week they could not have a shower or have hot food to eat or any of that," said Mohammad.

Raising awareness

Local advocates say the best way to help relief efforts is to send money.

The Ummah Masjid and Community Centre in Halifax has raised more than $87,000 in a matter of days. Imam Abdullah Yousri says the money will go to charities in Turkey and Syria to buy medical supplies, food and temporary shelter.

While money flows to aid efforts overseas, Yousri said people here at home need support as well.

"We have a community member, she lost her sister and the entire family, her husband and three kids in this earthquake," said Yousri.

"We gathered at the mosque to pray and give condolences to the family."

The Antigonish, N.S.-based company Peace by Chocolate is donating 100 per cent of its profits from sales of a selection of products to the Canadian Red Cross, which is matching up to $10 million for the victims of the quakes.

The tragedy has hit close to home for the business's owner, Tareq Hadhad, who came to Nova Scotia as a Syrian refugee in 2016. He said he has lost friends in the earthquakes.

Hadhad is encouraging local businesses to fundraise or donate to relief efforts if possible.

"Even before the earthquake, I was contacting relief efforts every single day to help refugees who were living in the northern part of Syria and those who were living under a dollar a day and, you know, extreme poverty situation," he said. "So now with the earthquake, I think our efforts really need to climb up faster than anything else."

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