'I've stopped crying': B.C. woman who lost 6 family members in Turkiye earthquakes sets sights on how to help rebuild
When two earthquakes struck her hometown of Iskenderun, Turkiye earlier this week, Nural Sumbultepe wasn’t immediately alarmed.
“Earthquakes happen in Turkiye all the time, and my family was always safe prior to this. So I didn’t believe that they were in danger at first,” said Sumbultepe, who now lives in Vancouver and works as a teacher in neighbouring Richmond.
But she learned her brother-in-law had died immediately, and five other family members were trapped under the rubble. They did not survive the collapse. Sumbultepe’s brother and sister-in-law’s bodies are still in the wreckage, and the bodies of her nephew, his wife and their six-month-old baby have just been recovered.
“One of my brothers sent me a video of a cemetery site of freshly dug graves, and how they were burying three members of my family,” said Sumbultepe. “They are the pillars of my family, they hold my family together. Life will never be the same, physically, emotionally, socially.”
Sumbultepe is being forced to grieve from half a world away, and the scope of the tragedy is hard to imagine.
“Thousands of buildings collapsed in my hometown alone. And there are over 7,000 people confirmed dead in just my hometown,” she said. ”I just can’t grasp it from here. Here I am in my warm home, and people are bringing food every day to me, and I don’t want it. I mean thank you, but I just want to be able to do something.”
Sumbultepe says it's important for Canadians who have been impacted by the tragedy to tell their stories, to keep the world’s eyes on Turkiye and Syria. And she’s determined to help her surviving family in person. She plans to fly to Turkiye and attempt to get to her hometown this weekend.
“I am mainly going to be moral support for my niece and nephew who lost their mom and dad. And I’m like a mother to them,” she said.
Sumbultepe also wants to be involved in the rebuilding effort.
“I’ve stopped crying, now it’s time to help. And I want to help for many years to come. It’s my country, it’s my people. I love Turkiye just as much as I love Canada,” she said, adding search and rescue efforts need to continue as well.
“My poor nephew, his mom and dad were under the rubble for two days. My niece got there she said there is not one single soul. We can see our mother, we can see our family is right there. We need cranes, we need people we need professional help to dig out people under the rubble,” she said.
Sumbultepe is also encouraging Canadians to donate to reputable charities who are on the ground helping.
“I want to spread the word as much as I can,” she said. “We need a bigger global effort to rebuild the region obviously. And I hope in two, three weeks we don’t forget about this region. That’s what I’m scared of.”
CTV News has compiled a list of how Canadians can help which includes a list of registered charities. The federal government is matching donations to the Canadian Red Cross up to $10 million.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.