Cary restaurant partners with American Turkish Association to aid earthquake victims
A local family is devastated after losing loved ones in the earthquakes in Turkey.
Two earthquakes struck Turkey nine hours apart on Feb. 6, with magnitudes of 7.5 and 7.8. As of Wednesday night, over 40,000 people have perished and thousands are still missing, injured and homeless.
Oguz Bulbul, the owner of Bosphorus in Cary, said his cousin and the cousin's husband, their two children, grandmother and six of their friends were victims of the earthquake. They died waiting to be rescued after their building collapsed.
"Nothing is left," Bulbul said. "We tried to recover, to get them out. They were all stuck in that building."
His mother, who is a doctor, flew to Turkey on February 10 with three suitcases of medical supplies. His family partnered with the American Turkish Association of NC to collect monetary donations.
The donations will be used to collect prosthetics, medical supplies and sleeping bags.
"I look at that picture and there's not a single person that has not lost a loved one," said Feyzan Baysal of the American Turkish Association of NC.
Baysal grew up in Turkey and said everyone from her high school class lost a loved one, except for her. She said the recovery process in Turkey is only beginning.
"This is not a one-time event," Baysal said. "Its going to take years for the to recover. The city is flattened."
Baysal now wants to help those who are still suffering in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes.
"We won't be able to bring the ones who passed away, but we will do our best to help the people to survive and move on," Baysal said.
The American Turkish Association will be hosting a Turkish Community Yard and Bake Sale Feb. 19. at 303 East Durham Road in Cary. The event will run between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
