Mohammed Dhaysane
Saturday February 18, 2023
Somalia’s recently established Committee for the Relief of the Earthquake Victims in Türkiye has launched a fundraising campaign in the capital Mogadishu.
The launching ceremony held in Horn of Africa nation’s capital Mogadishu was attended by senior government officials, religious scholars, businessmen and civil societies.
At the launching ceremony, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said the goal is to raise $5 million in three days and announced that his government contributed $1 million to the quake relief campaign.
He said history will not forgive Somalia if it does not stand with our brotherly nation of Türkiye today, despite the difficulties Somalia is facing as a nation, including a drought and conflict.
Somali Interior Minister Ahmed Fiqi said Somalia has an opportunity to return some the countless support received from “our Turkish brothers and sisters”.
"It is a chance to show that Somalia does not forget her friend”.
According to the committee, the chairman of the Somali Bankers Association Ahmed Shirwa, on behalf of Somalia's business community, announced a donation of $3 million towards the earthquake victims relief in Türkiye, totaling the amount of money donated by the government and Somali business community to $4 million.
More than 38,000 have so far died in twin quakes in southern Türkiye, but hope endures as more survivors emerge from the rubble.
The Feb. 6 magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.
Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.