Easter of ‘sharing’ with victims of the earthquake

Two months after the quake, many are still looking for a way to escape abroad or to other parts of the country. In the city the first shops and activities reopen, yesterday the Palm Sunday celebrations united Turkish and foreign Christians. Young Italians carry help among the rubble. A university student from Florence: “A strong experience”.

Iskenderun () – Two months after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, with its legacy of destruction and death (more than 57,000 victims), “many people have left, others are looking for accommodation to be able to leave, because it is not easy to stay under tents”. There is still a phase of full emergency and precariousness in the region hit by the earthquake on February 6, as he told the Vicar of Anatolia, Monsignor Paolo Bizzeti. He added that “it is not easy to depend on help” and that the desire to flee “for those who can” remains “strong”. These days, the prelate is coordinating the work of some volunteers who came from Italy to experience Easter with the displaced and contribute to assistance, in a climate of “solidarity and sharing.”

“Those who have relatives abroad or people who can host them” leave Turkey, others “go to cities not far from the areas where they lived before” counting on contacts and acquaintances, Bishop Bizzeti explained, also because “in Turkey there are a lot of solidarity at the family level. Meanwhile, in Iskenderun “some shops and activities are reopening” and the outlook is decidedly less complicated than in Antioch, which remains the heart of the devastation. Palm Sunday celebrations took place yesterday “with local Christians and foreigners united in faith.” In Antioch, on the other hand, there are no places to celebrate and even the Capuchin friars have left. There are uncovered areas, where it is not yet known whether or how Easter will be celebrated.”

The vicar of Anatolia observed that the problem is, on the one hand, “removing the rubble” which is still a lot, and on the other “the possibility of helping, building and rebuilding” more quickly and with fewer bureaucratic obstacles. “Every action goes through a government coordination committee and there is little scope for free personal initiative,” he continued. Building villages “with prefabricated houses” and providing a roof for the displaced remains a “complicated” undertaking, because “permits are needed from the authorities”, which have a modality and long time to operate. It is precisely the time factor that “constitutes one of the main obstacles” given the needs that continue to be enormous. “It is clear that coordination is needed,” he said, “but It is one thing to organize the work and quite another to create a funnel through which all activity must pass”.

In response to the emergency, the non-profit association Amici del Medio Oriente Onlus (AMO) promoted the initiative “And now I raise my head”, as Psalm 26 recites. From April 2 to 9, a week of volunteering in the areas affected by the earthquake on the occasion of Easter, in order to “serve” others and share a party that can really be an opportunity to be reborn. “An idea that was born from the sensitivity of a Jesuit brother, Father Francesco Cavallini, who is also part of AMO,” said Monsignor Bizzeti. “We thought of inviting young people to share this experience with the Christians here, live the celebrations of Holy Week and provide help, combining services and celebrations”.

A dozen young people from different parts of Italy joined the initiative and more are expected to arrive in the coming hours. “Now they are placing the liturgical material, the books that must be filed and catalogued,” the vicar said, “there is food that must be distributed in the stores, and then sent to where it is needed.” Among those who accepted AMO’s invitation is Francesco Busoni, 20, a university student in Florence. “Less than a week ago,” he recounted, “a friend showed me the ad, inviting me to live an experience in which the victims of the earthquake would have done much more for me than I could actually do for them. A personal experience strong, so I jumped at the chance.”

“I arrived in Adana and on the way to Iskenderun, where I am now, I saw entire cities and towns leveled” two months after the earthquake. “Cars buried in rubble, entire houses collapsed with clothes still hanging,” he continued, an image “impressive.” “Yesterday I went to a tented area and saw children attending classes in the open air, because their school had collapsed,” she stressed. Even on a festive period, you realize how everyday life is never taken for granted. Now I have to say goodbye, because we have to go fix the wall of the church and move some objects “she concluded.

IN SUPPORT OF THE INITIATIVES FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE EARTHQUAKE CARRIED OUT BY THE APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF ANATOLIA AND THE CUSTODY OF THE HOLY LAND, THE PIME FOUNDATION HAS OPENED A FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN. CLICK HERE TO KNOW HOW TO CONTRIBUTE.