The devastating affect of the dual earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye on Feb. 6 affected not solely the lives of the Turkish individuals but additionally foreigners residing therein.
Franziska Niehus is amongst these foreigners and has been residing in Istanbul for 5 years.
Born in Germany, Niehus is an enormous fan of Türkiye as she has traveled to 81 provinces in her previous yellow automotive and have become fairly standard on social media.
She has over 500,000 followers on her Instagram account, the place she posts movies about Turkish cities she has visited.
After receiving news of the devastating earthquakes that hit 11 provinces, she felt that her coronary heart “was heavy with pain.”
She has been affected by some transferring situations from the quake zone, main her to provoke fast motion to assist victims. Suddenly, the thought simply popped into her thoughts out of nowhere: Walking from Vienna, Austria, to Istanbul to boost donations alongside her manner.
Niehus informed Anadolu Agency (AA) by way of Zoom about her actions to assist victims whereas strolling on the outskirts of Vienna on the second day of her journey.
The 29-year-old traveler was in Kayseri for a ski journey when the earthquake occurred on Feb. 6.
“I woke up at 4:20 am in the morning because the building was shaking. It was the first time ever that I experienced such a strong earthquake in my life. So, I was scared. I didn’t know what to do. I ran outside without my shoes on,” she mentioned.
Following the earthquake, she instantly went to Elbistan in Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the second earthquake with a 7.6 magnitude within the afternoon.
“We saw the devastating outcome of the earthquake. I realized that this is one of the biggest disasters that the modern time has probably witnessed and we should do something about it,” she recalled.
“When I was in Elbistan, it was really cold. Everybody lost family or homes. But they still came up to me to offer tea because it was so cold. They might have lost everything, but they did not lose hospitality and hope. This is why I care about this so much,” she famous.
Goal of two,400 kilometers
Niehus mentioned she is ready to stroll round 2,400 kilometers (1,490 miles) and can distribute the donations to a charitable venture for the victims each 500 kilometers (310 miles).
When requested concerning the function of her journey, she mentioned that she needed to boost consciousness to gather donations for the earthquake victims.
“I was thinking by myself as to what I can personally do to help in this situation for Türkiye, which I call home. I feel like there is something that I can do to help people. So, this is something that I can do: Raise awareness with my social media platforms by raising donations for those people that need help most right now,” she mentioned.
She has already collected $3,000 (round TL 56,700) on her second day of strolling.
“I am overwhelmed by the support and donations that are already coming in even before I started this walk. Multiple charities will profit from this project,” she underlined.
On messages she acquired about her lengthy journey, she acknowledged that the reactions have been very optimistic.
“Of course, there are a lot of people who are also very worried about me because it’s a really long way. And there are parts that are going to be extremely lonely and difficult. I am aware of this, but most of the messages were extremely sweet. People are excited about this. And I hope that with this project, I can also motivate other people to do something. Go outside and think about how they can personally help in this situation,” she remarked.
She plans to stroll round 20 or 30 kilometers per day, a tempo which is able to take her round 5 months to achieve Istanbul after touring throughout eight international locations, together with Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
She added that she already used to strolling lengthy distances with different out of doors actions reminiscent of climbing and tenting in Türkiye.
“I climbed Ağri Mountain a few months ago. So, I feel well-prepared. I trust myself and am very confident that I will reach Istanbul.”
Hatay ‘particular’ for her
Niehus has been affected by the photographs of the cities that had been hit by the huge quakes, as Hatay has a particular place in her coronary heart.
“When I saw the images of the destroyed cities, I was devastated because I remembered all the memories I made in those cities,” she lamented.
“I went to Hatay, which is one of my favorite cities in Türkiye. I also have friends there. I immediately contacted everybody and made sure that they were okay. But the city is not recognizable anymore. I am really devastated about this. I hope that together we can build this up again. I know it may take a very long time. But one day, it will be okay,” she hoped.
The demise toll from the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye has risen to 45,089, as per the nation’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority’s (AFAD) information on Wednesday.
On Feb. 6, magnitude 7.7 and seven.6 quakes struck 11 provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.
More than 13 million individuals in Türkiye have been affected by the quakes.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
