Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) – People with Turkish roots in particular have been organizing a fundraiser for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey for a week with a lot of commitment. “The willingness to help is really enormous,” said Atila Karabörklü, chairman of the Turkish community in Hesse. The donation warehouse that opened last Friday in an industrial area in Frankfurt was full within two days. A Turkish entrepreneur made additional storage space available in Mainz-Kastel.
He knows many who spontaneously flew to Turkey after the quake to help on site, says Karbörklü. There are WhatsApp groups of aid organizations to organize help between Turkey and Germany and to get what is needed to where it is needed – if there is a transport option. Others helped distribute food, made soup, and just tried to be there for quake survivors.
Bilal Can, a member of the municipal representation for foreigners in Frankfurt, is already thinking about the challenges of reconstruction in the disaster region: “I wrote to the mayoral candidates that they would campaign for ten German cities to sponsor a Turkish city in the earthquake region , to help with the reconstruction. Frankfurt should become the godfather city of Gaziantep.”
The mayoral election in Frankfurt is on March 5th.
In addition, Can is organizing a charity indoor football tournament on March 18, in which 20 clubs are likely to want to take part. Above all, he hopes to raise money from the auction of the signed jerseys of Emre Can (Borussia Dortmund) and today’s Besiktas player Cenk Tosun, who grew up in Frankfurt and took his first steps in football with Frankfurter Eintracht.
In Wiesbaden, too, many people are committed to helping the victims of the earthquake. The wheelchair basketball team “Rhine River Rhinos” briefly made a game against Hannover United a charity game. “Instead of the regular entrance fee, our guests were able to make a voluntary donation in a donation box,” explained Managing Director Mirko Korder. The money went to the aid organization Hessen’den Deprem Bölgesine. According to vonKorder, 2787 euros were collected. “We were told that the money was used to purchase portable toilets and shower stalls, which are currently in great demand.”
Other municipalities and, for example, the district of Offenbach post information on relief measures and the account numbers of aid organizations that are involved in the disaster region on their websites.
