After the devastating Earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border region mourns comedian Kaya Yanar (49, “What are you looking at?”) for eight relatives.
“Unfortunately, we have to mourn a total of eight deaths in the extended family. Including three teenagers,” shared the son of Turkish parents Facebook with.
Most of his relatives have now left the city of Antakya. “There’s nothing for her there anymore. All their homes are dilapidated or destroyed,” Yanar wrote. Some stayed in the city to tend to the dead.
“The children keep crying at night”
His mother organized a place to stay in the city of Antalya for 16 family members: “There they sleep like sardines on the floor. But these are luxury problems. They are warm, there is food and they have a roof over their heads.”
The comedian also reported psychological consequences for his relatives from the earthquake area: “They are simply traumatized. They usually stare into space or cry uncontrollably. The children keep crying out at night and have nightmares. For the first few hours they all stayed on the street around a campfire or in cars. Bodies lay in sacks or rugs a few yards from them.”
An uncle helped in Antakya until recently. “He tells of crushed bodies and screams from the rubble. Absolute horror,” reports Yanar.
Under different circumstances, Kaya Yanar thinks he might have been a victim of the earthquake too. “I am grateful to my parents for coming to Germany. How would my life have been in Antakya? Maybe I would have spent the last few days screaming for help under the rubble of my parents’ hometown.”
Yanar’s parents had emigrated to Germany before he was born. Kaya was born in Frankfurt/Main and also grew up in Germany.
The comedian ended his emotional post with a thank you: “Despite my broken heart, tears of sorrow are mixed with tears of gratitude. The solidarity and helpfulness with those affected is transnational.” He announced that he would collect further donations and donate the money already collected to “Doctors Without Borders”.
The authorities in Turkey and Syria have now counted more than 47,000 dead after the earthquake. Meanwhile, the EU warned that infectious diseases could spread more frequently in the disaster area in the coming weeks.
Remembering the children who were killed Helpers distribute balloons in the rubble
