Christian Organizations Provide Relief in Southern Turkey After Earthquake
Christian organizations, many from the West, are among the groups trying to provide aid in Southern Turkey following the Feb. 6 7.8-magnitude earthquake that is threatening 1.5 million people in the disaster zone, which includes Northwestern Syria.
Miras Christian magazine publisher Gokhan Talas of Istanbul, 530 miles from the earthquake zone, is among the ministry teams providing help.
“Our first focus is to encourage the people in the earthquake zone to live in peace,” said Talas, a former Muslim-turned-Christian, adding that the area continues to be unsafe. “We are working to serve people with food, shelter, medical supplies and more...”
The first of two major earthquakes hit the area about a month ago. Talas said rescue efforts were swift but wound down. Now people are struggling to survive in tents provided by government and charitable organizations such as First Hope aid association, Union of Marmara Protestant Churches and the United Nations. While officials estimate of deaths is around 50,000, Talas said the figure is closer to 100,000, and more than 160,000 buildings have collapsed
“We work with everyone we can, from secular organizations to church organizations,” Talas said. For now, the churches aren’t focusing on evangelism or handing out Bibles.
“The pain is very fresh,” Talas said, noting that survival is paramount. Talas said he hasn’t visited the earthquake zone, and he and other Christians from Istanbul say they can do more by collecting and sending aid to the earthquake zone. He couldn’t comment on the destruction of antiquities. Like others, he has heard reports that Islamic centers are taking in orphans, and he is concerned that these children may be become militant.
In addition to tents, people are living in trains, mosques and anywhere that can provide a bit of comfort. Jerry Mattix and his Christian team from Northern Cyprus are constructing temporary shacks. Mattix wrote the book “Dear Muslim Friend” in 2014.
Talas said the grim situation is made worse by thieves who are stealing from the devastated home and bandits who close roads to rob people who are fleeing; some thieves even rob supply trucks trying to deliver crucial aid.
“The area is not safe for women, children — anyone,” Talas said.
The U.S. State Department has estimated that of Turkey’s total population — which is around 82 million — 99% is Muslim. Meanwhile, public opinion surveys published in January 2019 by Turkish research firm KONDA suggested that 3% of the population identifies as atheist and 2% identify as nonbelievers.
From 1894 to 1924, the number of Armenian, Greek and Assyrian Christians in the Turkish region fell from 3-4 million to just tens of thousands — or from 20% of the population to under 2%, according to “The Thirty-Year Genocide,” by researchers Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi. Today, Turkish Christians live in the shadow of this history.
The U.S. government reported, “Representatives of other religious groups estimate their members are 0.2 percent of the population, while the most recent public opinion surveys published in January 2019 by Turkish research firm KONDA suggest approximately 3 percent of the population self-identifies as atheist and 2 percent as nonbelievers.”
Miras, which means inheritance in the Turkish language, is still one of the few Turkish Christian publications. (One ReligionUnplugged.com reader, Rhonda Wiest, reached out and noted that “E-manet is a digital Christian periodical that launched in 2003 and has 500 Turkish-speaking subscribers. It aims to train Protestant Christians in their faith and to assist in the training of church leaders.”)
Although Istanbul is far from devastated areas such as Iskendeun on the Mediterranean or the city of Hatay, volunteers from Istanbul — including Talas — are doing what they can to provide relief.
According to Talas, David C. Cook publishing provided a curriculum for leaders helping earthquake victims, but little gospel literature is available at the moment
“If someone asks for prayer or asks where to find hope, then we pray, but the goal now is to provide aid,” said Talas.
Michael Ray Smith is a professor of communication at LCC International University. He regularly contributes to Religion Unplugged. His “7 Days to a Byline that Pays” book is used by some universities in their journalism programs.