Anonymous Pakistani in the US “donates” $30 million to help earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.
A Pakistani living in the United States “gave $30 million to the Turkish embassy” to help the people in Turkey and Syria who were hurt by the earthquake, which killed thousands of people and destroyed many homes.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early Monday morning and caused a lot of damage. So far, it has killed more than 24,000 people, and hopes of finding more survivors are fading.
Turkish media reported on the donation, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed it on Twitter by saying, “Deeply moved by the example of an anonymous Pakistani who walked into the Turkish embassy in the US and donated $30 million for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.”
“These are such wonderful acts of charity that help people beat what seem to be insurmountable odds,” he said.
Yousuf Erim, a journalist for TRT World, also liked the move and said in a video that was posted on Twitter: “People, a Pakistani businessman walked into the Turkish embassy in the U.S. and gave $30 million by himself, without giving his name. We have no idea who he is. His name has not been given out.”
Mustafa Tanyeri, who is the editor-in-chief of The Election Post, said that Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington, Murat Mercan, said that a Pakistani businessman gave $30 million to the aid campaign started in the US on his own.
Jaffar Hasnain, who works for TRT World, also wrote about this.
PM Shehbaz said on Friday that Rs10 billion has been given by the federal government to help Turkey with earthquake relief. He also said that Pakistan will continue to help the country every day.
“I think the people of Turkey and Syria will get through this,” he said. He also said that Pakistan had promised to help Turkey on the day this tragedy happened.
“A team from the Pakistan Army was sent the day after the earthquake hit Turkey, and relief supplies are now being sent,” he said.
He said that a truck is taking goods to Turkey that weigh 100 tonnes.
The prime minister asked the people, groups that help people, and businesspeople to help raise money. He also asked the heads of state to help with this.
“A group has been put together to send money to Turkey. There are 1,486 tonnes of aid being sent to Turkey and Syria, “he added.
The prime minister said that 13 places in Pakistan have been set up to collect donations, and that donations will also be taken in schools all over the country.
International help was also trickling into parts of Turkey and Syria on Saturday, where rescuers were working hard to pull children out of the rubble in areas that were hit by the earthquake.
A winter freeze in the affected areas has made it harder to help millions of people, many of whom already needed help very badly.
After the earthquake, which has left up to 5.3 million people without homes in Syria alone, the UN warned that at least 870,000 people in the two countries need food right away.
Aftershocks from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake have killed more people and messed up the lives of those who are still alive even more.
The World Food Programme of the United Nations asked for $77 million to help feed at least 590,000 newly displaced people in Turkey and 284,000 in Syria.
It said that 545,000 were people who had moved within their own country and 45,000 were refugees.