The voice you need to hear
Hello, I’m Melis.
I am one of those Turkish people devastated by the Kahramanmaraş earthquake on Monday morning; I have been crying over the survivors’ news and feeling very helpless. Although the quake did not harm my family, I cannot rejoice because I mourn my friends, their families, and all our losses. I’m ashamed of sleeping, eating, and the normal flow of life, and I know I’m not the only one experiencing it. Moreover, our neighbor Syria has been shaken by this disaster as much as we have as if the war history of all these years had not worn it down enough; I am very sorry for not being able to come back and talk about supporting them. To reduce the situation to a single sentence, “We are offended, angry, and tired.”
We can’t overcome this disaster, the disaster of the century, on our own. Turkey and Syria, which were affected by the earthquake, will need support now and in the future, and we need you to hold our hands in this world where we seek “humanity” every day.
How can you support us?
Financial Support:
- Ahbap Foundation
- Akut Search and Rescue Association
- IFRC (The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies)
- The United Nations Refugee Agency
Moral support:
- Company support: Please start aid campaigns and encourage employee participation. Also, please pay attention to the power of direct communication; keep in mind that communication is the responsibility of the People teams as well as the direct managers. It is never efficient Human Resources policy to wait for an employee to reach you when they need support — Isn’t it necessary to be a “People Partner” in good times and in bad times? Lastly, please do not forget that your employees may need psychological support, and give them “breathing space.”
- Individual support: By contacting the relevant departments of your companies, you can initiate aid campaigns and awareness raising. If you can do nothing, it is enough to make your friends affected by the disaster feel that you are with them and that they are not alone. It may sound like something other than help to you, but it is.
Thank you!
