Amid the difficulties and devastation after an earthquake that killed more than 7,800 people in Turkey and Syria, the Vietnamese community in Turkey has offered goods and necessities to victims in the country.

Duong Nam Phuong, administrator of the ‘Vietnamese community in Turkey’ Facebook page, who is living and working in Istanbul, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday evening that they brought goods and necessities to gathering sites regulated by the local government, then loaded them onto vehicles, and received acceptance certificates for the commodities.

“Everything was well-organized,” Phuong said.

The goods included mainly clothes, shoes, socks, coats, blankets, bed sheets, pillows, and cushions, which are essential for residents sheltering in temporary tents in quake-hit areas.

When asked about Vietnamese in Turkey, Phuong said that he had talked with Vietnamese Ambassador to Turkey Do Son Hai and knew that a Vietnamese woman had to be evacuated out of danger together with her husband on the morning of the day of the disaster, while another Vietnamese person had yet to be contacted.

The Vietnamese community in Turkey currently has some 200 members, who regularly keep in touch with one another.

Any Vietnamese should follow the Facebook pages of the community and the Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey.

“After the earthquake occurred, the embassy has pinned its contact information at the top of its Facebook page and kept a close watch on the state of the Vietnamese people in Turkey," Phuong noted.

“I uploaded a post attached with the hotline of the embassy [on the Facebook account of the Vietnamese community in Turkey] so that Vietnamese people can contact it if needed.”

Few Vietnamese people live in quake-hit areas in Turkey

The Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey told Tuoi Tre that the number of Vietnamese people living in 10 eastern cities and provinces of Turkey that are affected by the fatal earthquake is small.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there had not been any information confirming Vietnamese citizens were among the deaths in the quake, but some lost assets. Some people had to take their children out of their houses early in the morning in the snow. 

The Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey is still keeping a close watch on the situation and will detach officials to areas with Vietnamese citizens affected by the earthquake to support them.

The earthquake in Turkey and Syria on Monday has claimed the lives of over 7,800 people, caused an impact on some 20,000 others, damaged many buildings and streets, and blocked the traffic systems in the two countries, thus hindering the rescue work.

If Vietnamese citizens were killed or injured in the earthquake, the embassy would conduct citizen protection measures, while the Vietnamese community in Turkey would call for donations to support the victims.

In urgent cases, Vietnamese citizens can contact the Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey via its Facebook or hotline +90 545 785 85 48 and the Vietnamese community in Turkey through its Facebook page.

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