TULSA, Okla. — Turkish students at the University of Tulsa are dealing with the pain and devastation of two massive earthquakes back home. They’re trying to raise awareness and money.
Aysu Dalogullari is a senior at the University of Tulsa getting ready to graduate this spring. She’s a first-generation college student in the U.S. Her family is in Istanbul.
She says it’s been a rough few days for her as she pieces together the devastating news coming out of her home country of Turkey.
MORE >>> Hope fading as deaths in Turkey, Syria quake near 12,000
“This is not normal,” Dalogullari said. “It’s enormous. It’s 10 cities. This is the biggest and I am far from home.”
She says it’s been an emotional time hearing from her family about the people they’ve lost.
“My mother lost a friend,” Dalogullari said. “They’ve been missing. She’s super sad and I wish I was there with her to at least comfort her.”
As she sifts through her emotions, she wants to do everything she can to help.
“I really want to stop everything. I wish I could stop everything in my life just to focus on how to help. How to send supplies. How to send money. How to send donations.”
It’s the reason she set up a table inside the Student Union at the University of Tulsa. She’s passing out information about the quakes and raising money.
“My whole soul is still in Turkey,” Dalogullari said. “It means everything to me so that’s why I’m trying to help.”
She also talked with two of her professors coordinating ways to help.
“It’s a complete devastation,” said Cem Sarica.
Sarica and Evren Ozbayoglu are both petroleum engineering professors born and raised in Turkey.
“It’s a rough week for us,” Ozbayoglu said.
The faculty and students say they just want the world to know what their people are going through.
“Everyone needs to care about this,” Dalogullari said. “It’s about the whole humanity needs to help.”
If you’d like to help, visit Turkey’s official Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency AFAD.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
