:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/A3MKP6ZFE5AGXLLTA6YN6DDDUU.JPG)
After Monday night’s catastrophic earthquake ravaged parts of Turkey and Syria, mosques and Islamic centers in Hampton Roads rallied to collect clothing and supplies.
Survivors, many of whom are now homeless, could face a “secondary disaster” as they struggle to stay warm in the bitter cold winter weather, according to the World Health Organization.
“It’s winter, and I think shelter is going to be the most important thing right now,” said Farid Haq, Imam of the Diyanet Mosque in Norfolk.
The Diyanet Mosque, also a Turkish community center, is spearheading an effort to collect winter clothes and equipment such as tents, sleeping bags, diapers, wipes, other hygiene products and more. The mosque will accept a first round of donations from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at 7110 Clayton Drive. Volunteers will drive the supplies to the Turkish Embassy in Washington on Sunday. The supplies will be flown to Turkey.
“Our prophet advises that this is a time to give out charity,” Haq said. When large scale tragedy strikes a community, Haq explained, “it is incumbent upon all the rest of the people to get ready and to help out.”
In Diyanet Mosque, large rugs were rolled and stored neatly on the side of the room to make way for folding tables stacked with items including diapers, wipes, coats, hiking boots and sleeping bags. Mustafa Cuce, a board member who is overseeing the effort, said volunteers will sort, pack and label everything so there will be no delays delivering the supplies. Recipients will know what they’re getting and be able to distribute accordingly.
The death toll in Syria and Turkey surpassed 23,000 on Friday as rescue operations raced against time and freezing temperatures to free survivors trapped under rubble. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks collapsed buildings in cities across eastern Turkey and northern Syria.
Today's Top Stories
Other mosques throughout Hampton Roads also are collecting relief items.
The Peninsula Islamic Community Center in Hampton at 1217 Todds Lane will collect donations from noon-4 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re praying for those who have passed away and for the suffering of their loved ones,” said Naved Jafri, president of the center. “On a practical front, we’re set up as a collection center in collaboration with the Turkish community center in Norfolk.”
This earthquake struck a particularly vulnerable region of Turkey and Syria, Jafri said. Many refugees of the Syrian civil war were settled in towns and villages across the border in Turkey, and already were dependent on aid and assistance.
The Islamic Center of Tidewater on the Old Dominion University campus is collecting blankets, sleeping bags, clothing, baby formula and diapers, hygiene products and medications. The mosque will be open for donations for 45 minutes at a time at noon, 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7:15 p.m. next Monday through Sunday. The center is at 1442 West 49th St. in Norfolk.
Although the first round of donated supplies is going to Washington on Sunday, the Diyanet Mosque will continue to collect donations after that, Cuce said. Donations of new items are preferred.
Cianna Morales, 757-957-1304, cianna.morales@virginiamedia.com