'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
Canada makes amendments to foreign homebuyers ban – here's what they look like
Months after Canada's ban on foreign homebuyers took effect on Jan. 1, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has made several amendments to the legislation allowing non-Canadians to purchase residential properties in certain circumstances.

Odds and ends: Here are some law changes Liberals plan to put in the budget bill
The 2023 federal budget released this week includes a series of affordability measures, tax changes, and major spends on health care and the clean economy. But, tucked into the 255-page document are a series of smaller items you may have missed.
Victim of Vancouver stabbing had asked man not to vape near toddler, says grieving mom
The family of a 37-year-old man who was stabbed to death in Vancouver last weekend says he was attacked after asking someone not to vape near his young daughter.
opinion | Don Martin: The budget's 24-hour countdown to being forgotten
The only thing most Canadians will remember about the budget this time next week is how the booze tax increase was reduced to two per cent from six, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
BREAKING | RCMP interviewing Canadians held in detention camps in Syria: sources
CTV News has learned that RCMP officers are currently in northeast Syria, interviewing Canadians held in detention camps in order to bring them back to Canada. The three Mounties have so far interviewed only Canadian women in Al-Roj camp.
B.C. parents win battle to put son's Indigenous name on his birth certificate
After 13 months of fighting, the parents of a Campbell River, B.C., boy have received a birth certificate that accurately reflects the spelling of his name.
Man who allegedly killed Quebec police officer had long history of violence, mental health issues: court docs
The man who allegedly killed a Quebec provincial police (SQ) officer on Monday had a long history of violence detailed in court documents. Sgt. Maureen Breau was fatally stabbed while trying to arrest a man on accusations of uttering threats in Louiseville near Trois-Rivieres. Two other officers then shot and killed the man.
Here are the ways the budget impacts you: From grocery bills to small business credit card fees
The federal government unveiled its spring budget Tuesday, with a clean economy as the centrepiece, and detailing targeted measures to help Canadians deal with still-high inflation.
Bank of Canada watching for potential spillovers from global banking stresses
A senior Bank of Canada official says the central bank is keeping a close eye on the stresses to the global banking system ahead of its next interest rate decision and monetary policy report in April.