"It's really tough out there": Yasar Yilmaz from Munich experienced the consequences of the devastating earthquake in Turkey up close.
Descriptions from the crisis area.
Yasar Yilmaz spontaneously flew from Munich to Turkey in a military plane to support earthquake victims on site.
The street worker sees every day how tense the supply situation has become.
Yilmaz regularly describes his experiences in the disaster area to our editors.
Update February 14, 11:15 a.m .:
"In Hatay there is no electricity, no petrol," reports Yasar Yilmaz.
"There is always looting." The Munich street worker is still on site to support the people affected by the devastating earthquake.
Yilmaz buys groceries in distant places and then brings them back to the provinces in a car.
Munich reports from the earthquake area: "Meanwhile it has become really hard and dangerous"
Together with other helpers, he has set up a camp where survivors and civilians are cared for.
Yilmaz sends a video showing exhausted soldiers wrapped in donated blankets.
“In the meantime it has become really hard and dangerous.
There are always people who take advantage of such a tragedy,” he explains.
Armed robbers are out and about, and valuables keep disappearing from abandoned apartments.
Yilmaz will soon have to go back to Munich, "work is calling".
However, there are still many volunteers on site to coordinate the supply and construction work.
The street worker wants to return to the crisis region "as soon as I can travel again".
Update February 10, 8:16 a.m .:
With all the depressing experiences, there are also moments that give Yasar Yilmaz hope.
"He saved so many lives, amazing," he writes about the photo of a dog that he sends from the earthquake area.
The four-legged friend is used on site to search for survivors under the rubble - again and again with success.
However, the Munich street worker is often an eyewitness when bodies are recovered.
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A dog that gives a little hope: again and again he helps to locate people who have been buried in the earthquake area.
© Yilmaz
Yilmaz founded his "Just Love" organization to provide effective support in crisis areas, as he says: "Unfortunately, there are many organizations that don't appear serious.
It's important to me that the money goes directly to where it's needed and doesn't go to waste on marketing, accommodation and similar purposes.” Every year at Christmas in Munich, he collects solid clothing and distributes it to the homeless.
These days, Yilmaz meets many people who have lost their homes in Hatay province.
It is important to him to emphasize that those outside of Turkey who were affected by the earthquake should not be forgotten: "The people in Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon also need our support now."
Looting after the earthquake in Turkey: "There's almost nothing within a radius of 200 kilometers"
Update February 9, 8:22 a.m .:
The volunteers in Hatay province are reaching their limits.
"Our hands are tied, there is a state of emergency here," reports Yasar Yilmaz.
All local grocery stores have been looted, the Munich street worker sends pictures of smashed windows.
“People go in there and pick things out.
There's practically nothing within a radius of 200 kilometers."
The military is on the streets, the gas stations are closed.
There is no more oil to run generators.
"I've seen a lot in my life," says Yilmaz, "but nothing like this: it's really tough out there."
Videos that Munich sent to us show desperate people on the streets, crowded around fireplaces.
Everything is missing.
Aid trucks from Istanbul are finding it difficult to move forward because snow has started to fall in parts of Turkey.
Munich distributes relief supplies to earthquake victims: "Everything that can help in this disaster"
Update February 8, 7:19 a.m .:
Yasar Yilmaz did it.
The Munich street worker is now on the road together with other volunteers to care for the earthquake victims in the province of Hatay - in a school bus that has been converted into an aid vehicle.
"We drive about 300 kilometers along the coast, give people what they need and then buy them again," reports Yilmaz.
The helpers have tools, canned goods, diapers and baby food on board, "everything that can help in this disaster".
The volunteers take on a lot for their commitment.
"It's very dangerous at the Syrian border," admits the man from Munich, but immediately becomes combative again: "Getting hold of this school bus was the best idea for getting from place to place." Yilmaz' passengers include paediatricians, nurses and paramedics.
Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: street workers from Munich want to provide on-site support
Original message:
Munich/Hatay - "The streets are blocked, no one can get through anymore," reports Yasar Yilmaz.
"We haven't slept for the last two days, everyone is exhausted." The native of Munich is sitting in a bus bound for the province of Hatay on the Turkish-Syrian border when our editorial team reaches him.
After the devastating earthquake catastrophe, there is now talk of more than 5,000 fatalities, and numerous people are still missing.
Unpredictable weather complicates the rescue work, and many houses are in danger of collapsing.
The street worker from Ramersdorf spontaneously flew to Turkey on Monday to help in a military plane manned by paramedics, doctors and firefighters.
Now it's on to the directly affected areas.
"We have a lot of things with us," says Yilmaz in a video he recorded from the bus.
Among other things, hammers and shovels are in demand.
"So that we can intervene directly after we have arrived," explains the man from Munich.
Aid items such as diapers, blankets and canned food have already been delivered to the crisis regions by truck.
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Emergency services continue to search for people who have been buried, Yasar Yilmaz (left) wants to provide on-site support.
© Screenshot/imago/ITAR-TASS
Yilmaz and his comrades-in-arms struggle with the arduous journey, but giving up is not an option: "People need us now." As the founder of the "Just Love" aid organization, he has already been to Bangladesh, East Africa and Palestine, says Yilmaz.
"But I've never experienced a natural disaster of this magnitude." The Munich resident informed his followers about the arduous journey to the border region via his Instagram channel.
He also left a donation link there.
We have summarized other options for effectively supporting earthquake victims for you.
Munich asks for donations for earthquake victims: "Any help is welcome"
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency for parts of Turkey.
As the daily newspaper
Hürriyet
reported, this should apply in ten cities for three months.
Schools in the affected areas are to remain closed until February 20.
"We are facing one of the greatest catastrophes in our history," Erdogan said.
Yilmaz calls for quick support from the bus: “Greetings to everyone in Munich;
please pray for us, donate, share the calls, any help is welcome.”
List of rubrics: © IMAGO / Depo Photos
