Taiwan rushes to help Turkey with donations and search and rescue teams
Taiwan is offering all the help and aid it can to Turkey, after a magntitude-7.8 earthquake that has killed more than 11,000. President Tsai Ing-wen has announced a donation of US$2 million dollars, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened up a bank account to accept donations from the public. Taiwan has also mobilized two search-and-rescue teams, the first of which has already reached the disaster zone. Turkey’s representative to Taiwan was at a loss for words when he tried to express how thankful he was for the help.
A reporter for CNN Turk, a subsidiary of the U.S. broadcaster, speaks to the camera. Behind him are rescuers from Taiwan. After a 37-hour-long journey, they’ve arrived at Adiyaman Province, one of the hardest hit areas in the recent earthquake. They immediately got to work.
At the crack of dawn, 5 a.m. local time, the search and rescue team was already going all out on their mission.
A search and rescue dog scours what used to be an eight-storey apartment block for survivors. From the third floor down, the building has collapsed to rubble. Still, team Taiwan did not give up. They joined forces with a Nigerian team to devise a new plan.
Chen Chien-jen
Premier
Right after the 1999 Jiji Earthquake, Turkey was among the first countries to send search and rescue teams to Taiwan. Now is the perfect occasion for us to return the favor.
Over in Taipei, the Taiwan Lantern Festival, which kicked off on Sunday commemorated the victims with a light installation featuring the Turkish flag.
At the venue, Turkish representative Muhammed Berdibek led the local Turkish expat community to lay flowers for the lives lost. It was a gathering organized by a Taiwanese supermarket chain to send wishes to Turkey and to return the goodwill shown by Turkey after the 1999 Jiji earthquake.
Muhammed Berdibek
Turkish Trade Office in Taipei
Yesterday we made our national requirement in-kind donation request. This lunch time, we have just received over 2,800 messages and phone calls. I am surprised and really grateful for the Taiwanese people, for their goodwill and kindness.
On Tuesday night, the Turkish Trade Office in Taipei published a list of urgently needed items for those affected, including winter coats, gloves and tents. The Taiwanese public had responded in kind, and on the same day President Tsai Ing-wen increased the country’s donation to Turkey to US$2 million. The foreign ministry had also opened a special bank account to accept donations from the public. Berdibek added that words failed to express his gratitude to the two rescue teams already in his country.
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Muhammed Berdibek
Turkish Trade Office in Taipei
Nothing to say to you for that. They are going to Turkey. They are trying to save thousands of lives. I’ll try to shake hands with each one of them specifically. I’m just trying to tell them, “What can I do?” The only words I can tell them are “thank you.”
Two Turkish artists who contributed to the lantern festival happened to take the same flight to Taiwan as the search and rescue team. One of them captured the moment on video, giving a thumbs-up and signaling love hearts to the team members to thank them. Joining the Turkish representative was Turkish-Taiwanese entertainer Ugur Rifat Karlova, who also came up to thank Taiwan for its help.
Ugur Rifat Karlova
Comedian
Many tragedies are happening. So I came to take part in this event, to tell everyone that the Taiwanese people have been very concerned about the situation in Turkey. Some countries don’t have earthquakes, so they don’t truly know what it’s like. But everyone in Taiwan has experienced earthquakes. You know how scary it is when the ground starts swaying.
The Tzu Chi Foundation has also launched relief efforts, ready to send blankets and other supplies to Turkey. In the aftermath of the earthquake, Taiwan’s government and associations are working together to help Turkey get through this tough time.
2023-02-08