'I feel so bad': Montrealers reeling, sending help after deadly earthquake rocks Turkiye
As the search continues for survivors, people in Quebec's Turkish community are doing what they can to help.
At the Mr.Tantuni Turkish restaurant, the owner's thoughts are with his home country.
"I feel [for] them because it's my people and I feel so bad," said the restaurant's owner, Miran Mirdini, who grew up in Mardin, one of the areas affected by the earthquakes.
He moved to Montreal more than a decade ago, but still has family and friends in Turkiye.
"The first thing I did, I just called my family. Everybody is okay," he said. "Maybe they are not telling us because we are far they don't want us to be sad."
Mirdini sent them money and is encouraged by the help being offered by countries around the world so far.
Help is also coming from Montrealers. When Turquebec heard about the massive earthquakes, it quickly mobilized to get emergency supplies to those affected.
"On Wednesday, there's a Turkish direct flight and it's going to Istanbul. We decided we can send some material urgently, what they need," said Gokhan Kurtoglu, president of Turquebec.
Many fled their homes with just the clothes on their backs, so survivors need things like proper boots, jackets, gloves, as well as non-perishable food, he said.
Every little bit helps, said Mirdini.
"In this bad news, we will have good news that everybody will help us at least," he said.
HOW TO HELP
Donations can be dropped off at:
- McGill University: 3480 McTavish St., Room 302
- Turquebec, Montreal: 3785 Villeray St.
- Turquebec, West Island: 61 Grand Blvd., Île-Perrot
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim downing U.S. Reaper drone, release footage showing wreckage of aircraft
Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.