OPINION: Turkey native calls attention to earthquake tragedy P.4

By DAMLA GUNES Contributing Writer

As you may have heard on the news, one of the worst disasters of the last decade happened in my home country of Turkey, known officially as Türkiye, on Feb. 6. Not just one, but two earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.6 occurred nearly backto-back and caused tremendous damage to Türkiye and Syria.

As of Feb. 13, the death toll is estimated to be more than 40,000 and at least 24 million people are affected. The earthquake hit southeast Türkiye and caused considerable destruction to ten cities: Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa. Immediately after the incident, Türkiye called for international help. However, there are still so many people waiting for that aid.

Imagine trying to rescue your family from under the rubble, having no idea if they are alive. Imagine being a little kid and being rescued, only to learn that your whole family is dead. Imagine being a teenager and putting your family in a grave. How is this fair? Who is to blame? The nature? The faith? The government? The contractors? There are thousands of people dead, thousands of families destroyed and thousands of facilities gone and yet we are still trying to blame someone; whatever we do we cannot bring those people or places back.

Currently, all types of schools are closed until Feb. 21. Universities switched to online education because the government decided to give college dorms and facilities