'It is heartbreaking': Maritime Syrian and Turkish communities react to earthquake and devastation
Thousands are dead and tens of thousands injured following the earthquake that has devastated Syria and Turkey.
“They are living in the street, laying down," said Omar Antebi, a Syrian Canadian. "There are no tents and there is nothing.”
Antebi left Syria ten years ago. Family members stayed behind.
“Four uncles and their wives and their children and my grandma and grandpa," said Antebi.
Antebi said, the cruel irony is, many fled the war in Syria to live safely in Turkey.
“They are escaping people’s bombing, and now they are experiencing God’s disaster.”
Rafat Harb, owner of the Syriana Market in Halifax, has spent many hours watching the horrifying images on TV.
“We have family there, it was not easy,” said Harb. “It is very hard when we see all the buildings come down and there is a lot of children under the building, and they couldn’t find them."
Ilker Dalgic volunteers with the Turkish Society of Nova Scotia and has experience when it comes to surviving earthquakes.
“Once I saw the magnitude as 7.8 I understood how it could be devastating and terrible because 24 years ago I also experienced one at 7.4 magnitude," said Dalgic. “It is heartbreaking.”
The scope of this tragedy has hit home with the entire Turkish community, including the owners of the Turkish restaurant Efes who are donating $2 per order for one full week to assist with earthquake aid.
“All of us knows someone who lost relatives. I have a friend who lost his in-laws," said Dalgic.
The Turkish society wants the government of Canada to act quickly and provide money, manpower and resources to aid those devastated by the earthquakes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.