Upstate student works to start relief effort for Turkey earthquake victims

Watching friends and family members go through the pain of losing loved ones in the recent earthquakes that rocked southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria has spurred Daniz Sariaslan to action. Sariaslan, a sophomore at Furman University from Turkey, is working with the university to set up ways to help the people in the region that, his friends report, “looks like an episode of ‘The Walking Dead’.” He and Furman’s Alex Akulli spoke to Kylie Jones of WYFF News 4.

Akulli joined the Center for Inclusive Communities in July last year as the associate director of International Student Engagement. He said, “Countries from around the world have sent teams of first responders and lots of resources to meet the immediate need. But the needs of these communities are going to be long-lasting for years to come.”

Furman reported that its relief campaign will be launched in the coming weeks. In the meantime, WYFF News 4 directed viewers to The American Red Cross and the Turkish Embassy as a couple of avenues for supporting people in the region. The death toll from the temblors for Turkey and Syria topped 50,000 as of Feb. 24, according to Reuters.