University responses to the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
February 6th 2023 began like any other Monday in Amsterdam, with students on campuses around the city rushing to class and laughing together in the corridors. But for most Turkish and Syrian students, their world was caving in. At 04:17 and 13:24 TRT, two 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes hit South Eastern Turkey and parts of Northwest Syria. Tens of thousands of people were killed—with the number of deaths still rising. Hundreds of thousands faced the loss of family, friends, homes, and their livelihood. 3,000 kilometers away, Turkish and Syrian expatriates living in the Netherlands were waking up to the news. Many with family and friends in the region were left to wait for news if their loved ones had survived.
That morning, Turkish and Syrian students were seeing images and videos of the devastation on social media, with tweets from people stuck under rubble pleading for help, sending the location of family members, and images of the dead amongst the debris circulating news channels. But in Amsterdam classes were held, as usual. There were no announcements or statements of support from administrators, with only some staff members mentioning it in class.
Between lectures and homework, many students emailed the University of Amsterdam (UvA) asking them to acknowledge the earthquakes and show support. Students came together to launch their own support initiatives including; a bake sale at Amsterdam University College (AUC) that raised over 2,000 euros, a number of students arranged supply donations to be collected from the UvA Roeterseiland campus, as well as a GoFundMe that raised over 7,800 euros.
While the UvA and AUC did eventually respond to the news of the earthquakes, helping to raise awareness, the delay left many students feeling unsupported, helpless, and alone during the most difficult first days following the quake, including AUC student Alya Yumrukçal: “It felt like no one cared.” In the days following the earthquakes, Alya wondered why some of her closest friends didn’t reach out to her. The answer was that many didn’t even know about it. Alya says she doesn’t blame them, but was greatly disheartened by the University’s silence.
Melike Fenercigil, also a student, shared her disappointment at the lack of response from UvA and AUC: “It’s crazy how some people are unaware of what’s going on,” she says, “but I don’t blame anyone personally.”
It took UvA two days to acknowledge the earthquake took place. On the day of, the UvA Instagram account posted this:
“With the sun peeking through the clouds, it’s a perfect day to stroll along the canals!
What’s your favorite place in Amsterdam to go for a walk? ”
After receiving numerous comments under that post urging them to address the disaster, alongside many emails- almost all of which were unanswered, they responded in an Instagram comment:
“Hi, we sympathize with any victims of the earthquake of course. However, we do not feel we are a relevant source to inform you about this. If UvA students or staff need any help or support because of it, please reach out to us!”
“Huge institutions like UvA have the means, the power, and the agency to reach people, to tell people that this is happening and it is critical, and that can save lives”
But after facing more criticism, they posted two days later, sharing student initiatives and suggestions of places to donate. Melike was a part of a group of over 100 Turkish students who urged administrators to respond. “We sent so many emails,” she reflects, “it’s not like they came up with the idea themselves... I think they were pressured a bit.”
UvA has more than 41,000 students, 6,000 employees, and 3,000 PhD researchers. “Huge institutions like UvA have the means, the power, and the agency to reach people, to tell people that this is happening and it is critical, and that can save lives” says Hazal Karagac, another AUC student; “If they don’t take the initiative to reach out to people, many people at UvA won’t take the initiative to help either.”
Meanwhile, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and AUC had yet to post about it on their social medias, but AUC had sent an email announcement to students with the subject line: ‘Supporting the victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: AUC Student Information’’, which came four days after the initial news of the disastrous earthquakes.
For many Turkish students, this was too late. “They are under the rubble, so many people waiting for help,” Alya said, holding back tears,“When disasters like this hit, responding quickly is essential.” Unable to focus on her new set of courses in her final semester, she worries about how understanding her professors will be; none of them have personally reached out to her or other Turkish students she knows. “I know people who are hearing that their friends are dead, how are they supposed to go to class?” Yet support from the school seems to be only in rhetoric, as many students have tried to get extensions or have needed to stay home from class without any collective understanding from teachers.
“I know people who are hearing that their friends are dead, how are they supposed to go to class?”
Despite the initial lack of support, parts of the University are doing more to raise awareness and funds to help. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) of the University of Amsterdam is donating a total of 11,388 euros to Giro 555 for aid to the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. But people still need help.
“This is a humanitarian crisis,” says Melike, who feels it is the University’s responsibility to better inform students, especially about major events that impact such a large number of their own students and staff.
In the Netherlands, Turkish expatriates make up the largest minority group, with around 430,000 people of Turkish origins residing here. “Sometimes in my classes there are more Turkish students than Dutch,” says Melike.
At the restaurant where she works as a waitress, Melike recently met a group of Turkish guests who spent the entire evening discussing the earthquakes. “From the outside, that table seemed so normal... but what they were talking about was so emotionally intense and heartbreaking... yet other people don’t even see it.” She compares this to how it felt in her student community. “That is really the challenging thing for us,” she said, “you still have to do school work and stuff... you have to kind of imitate normal life.” Melike explains how this contrast in awareness and emotional states between those impacted and her less informed friends can be alienating.
Hazal explained that in such an international university, especially one that boasts about its diversity and inclusion, it is their responsibility to speak out about these issues. It is even more important with an impact of this magnitude, with the death toll surpassing 46,000 as of February 19th. “Even if you don’t have friends or family who died in the quakes, you will know someone who has lost someone,” says Hazal. Dealing with this is difficult enough, but without adequate support from the school or awareness amongst peers, the past weeks have been isolating,
Hazel says, “It makes you feel lonely here.”
Hazal wrote about the alienation and helplessness felt by other Turkish students in AUC’s newspaper, The Herring. You can read her article, using this link.
For those who want to help, here are some resources to donate to:
• Fundraiser: organized by UvA students, all proceeds go to Ahbap
• Ahbap: one of the most active volunteer networks in the region (non-governmental)
• AKUT: a non-governmental Turkish search and rescue organization
• Turkish Philanthropy Funds is a US-based organization that helps donors support charitable causes in Turkey
• White Helmets: a volunteer organization operating in Syria & Turkey
• #HasanAbiForTurkeySyriaEarthquakesFund: a donation fund organized by Turkish streamer and well-known online personality “HasanAbi”
• Rode Kruis (Red Cross) >