5 Ways To Level Up Your Relief Efforts For The Türkiye And Syria Earthquake Victims

At the time of writing this article, over 23,000 deaths have been reported from the devastating earthquakes that shook both Syria and the Southeastern region of Türkiye on Monday the 6th of February 2022.

Is there anyone amongst you who has seen the pictures of buildings collapsing, people trapped under the rubble, the utter grief of the victims, and not felt completely helpless? This feeling is not unreasonable. After all, what can we -as regular individuals- do when an earthquake of this magnitude destroys -not just one city- but an entire region? How can we possibly help when thousands are reeling from having lost loved ones, with homes now reduced to rubble?

However, even in a disaster of this scale, there are things we can do to help – but only the elite few will attempt them.

1 – Dua’ to Allah

One of the curses of the social media age is that many of us are quick to share messages like “make dua’..” and “praying for..,” but it is debatable how many actually take the time out to raise their hands to Allah and even make the ask.

It is impossible to have empirical evidence for this, but as Shaikh Muhammad Al-Shareef was an expert in explaining, making dua’ is something that can be done by anyone. But (like anything in life) doing it well requires some effort.

Exhibit A: O Allah , help the people affected by the earthquake.

Exhibit B: O Allah , guide the hands of the rescuers to the right place and give them the strength to rescue those trapped. O Allah , console those trapped under the rubble like You consoled Yunus in the belly of the whale. O Allah , give us the strength to look after those left behind, and the wisdom and means to prepare properly for the next one.

They are both dua’s, but they are not the same.

2 – Organize Fundraising Events

This is simple. You can either give money or you can give your time to help organize events that raise money.

The former will be limited by your bank account and how much of a hit you are willing to take. The latter will not.

The former will inshaAllah have the barakah of sadaqah. The latter will have the barakah of sadaqah and unity.

The former will rarely lead to more good beyond what you sent it for. The latter will motivate and inspire others, help you make like-minded friends, reduce anxiety, and also enable you to share ideas and do even better work in the future.

Don’t be just a fund giver. Be a fundraiser.

3 – Lobby Civil Society & Government

We are all part of a larger society, and often companies, agencies, and even governments will be pressured to act if the people push them to do it. So we need people to push them and explore how we can leverage our contacts, our people power, and our connections for a greater good.

Examples include Apple matching donations up to thousands of dollars for their employees, governments being lobbied to provide more financial support, and non-Muslim neighbors willing to get involved as they too are touched by the humanitarian disaster.

Lobbying is basically asking people in power for something, and if you don’t ask, you don’t get. So ask.

What is the worst that they will say? No? Great. Ask someone else. Ask differently. Too many lives are on the line for us to be shy to ask.

4 – Help Coordinate Relief Efforts 

Here we get technical. Those that are running relief efforts are charities and NGOs with years of experience. We definitely do not need cowboys turning up and telling them what to do.

However, could they use the help of people who look at the systems in place with fresh eyes and humbly and unobtrusively come up with suggestions on how to improve coordination? Of course. They are human beings. Very stretched and busy human beings.

I have lost count of the number of times I have heard that “coordination saves lives.” Of course it does.

Imagine if someone was able to sit down and (after some research) identify all the destroyed housing complexes using Google Maps and satellite images, then cluster them into zones and put these maps online along with a tally of the people missing (and found) that could be public to all but updatable only by a few. This will not only be a useful resource for all aid agencies and maybe even governments, but more certainly to relatives and friends waiting for news. This is just one idea and there may be a million reasons why it won’t work, but at least it is a start.

You’ll never make your dreams come true if you don’t even dream in the first place.

5 – Prepare for the Next One

Like Covid, this was a natural disaster that we knew was going to happen sooner or later. The question is, what about the next one?

Istanbul, Islamabad, Cairo, and Jakarta are just some of the Muslim mega-cities that are built on fault lines. And none of them are ready for the Big One. Is this not a wake-up call for us to get our act together? We cannot predict or prevent earthquakes, but we can protect ourselves by ensuring buildings are up to code, that earthquake drills are standard, and disaster response teams are set up so that we can deploy faster, better, and more effectively.

You don’t need to be an expert in this area to make a difference. You just need to want to make a difference and then act accordingly with your own unique skill set.

I know the above may come across as crazily optimistic, but it is no less optimistic than those rescuers are right now… digging through the rubble and twisted metal of a collapsed nine-story apartment in the freezing cold, five days after the earthquake struck. If they won’t give up because there is a small chance that they can save at least one more life, then neither should we.

Related reading:

– Keys to Understanding Natural Disaster Relief in Light of Haiti Earthquake

– Divine Plan or Natural Forces – Reflections on the Pakistan Floods