February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
They were images from hell: Mothers screaming for lost daughters; sons scrambling for fathers through concrete rubble.
Small children were still being pulled from beneath collapsed buildings days after one of history’s most devastating earthquakes destroyed a part of Turkey last week.
With most of the Western rescue missions now heading home, the death toll in this disaster is still rising. It stands now at 18,000 but will surely rise, with many dead, perhaps another 20,000, still buried in the remains of their homes.
Now comes the issue of relief and assistance. Thousands have been left homeless. Trauma and poor sanitation threaten to engulf the affected areas as Turkey’s local officials struggle in the face of terrible suffering.
Many aid agencies are helping to rebuild lives there. But television brings disasters such as this into our living rooms here. And into our consciences. Do help in a way open to everyone.
The following is a list of some of the agencies accepting donations for relief efforts:
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€ American Red Cross International, PO Box 37243, Washington DC, 20013. Call 1800-HELP-NOW.
€ Doctors of the World USA, 275 West Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10012. Call 1-888-817-HELP.
€ US Committee for UNICEF, 333 E. 38th Street, New York, NY 10016. Call 1800-FOR-KIDS.
€ World Relief, PO Box WRC, Dept. 3 , Wheaton, IL 60189. 1800-535-5433.