Turkish-born faculty members in Framingham State mobilize to help earthquake survivors

Palabek and four Turkish-born faculty members at Framingham State, motivated by a shared grief at events in their home country, are leading a fundraiser to help survivors of the Feb. 6 earthquake, which killed more than 48,000 people.

A fund set up by the university on behalf of the faculty group has raised more than $13,000 to date, above the $10,000 originally targeted. Organizers now hope to reach $20,000 in donations by March 24, and will likely continue the campaign after that.

The university, whose alumni office administers the fund, will donate all donations raised to the Turkish Charitable Funds, a relief organization whose faculty members have chosen to receive the funds. While TPF is a Turkish-American charity, Balbek said he will ask the organization to try to ensure that the donation helps earthquake survivors in both Turkey and Syria.

In the beginning, the faculty also collected donated supplies for the earthquake survivors. These items – including hygiene products, blankets, tents and clothes – were delivered by Palabiyik to the Boston office of Turkish Airlines, which included free supply shipments to the quake zones.

John Umit Palabek, assistant professor and chair of management, business and information technology at Framingham State University, is one of five Turkish-born faculty members leading a funding drive to help survivors of the Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Balbeck said the supply drive was halted after two weeks because aid organizations were asking donors to donate money instead of materials.

Joining Palabek in leading the expedition were Agartan, Associate Professors of Sociology; Zeynep Gonen, assistant professor of criminology; Ella Carat, Assistant Professor of Marketing. and Borja Deniz, associate professor of management, business, and information technology.

Agartan said that his family and friends in Turkey all reside in the Istanbul area, which was not affected by the quake. But he told all people of Turkish descent, “The collective trauma we are going through is very strong. It really broke our spirits to see these people under rubble for days. The tragedy is indescribable.”

Palabiyik’s family and friends in Turkey also escaped physical harm – all in his native Istanbul – but he was shaken by the tragedy.

“For the first two weeks at least, I only slept two hours a night. I was constantly waking up, listening to the news,” he said. “One area in Turkey was affected but Turks from all over the world are traumatized.”

He said the incident was particularly painful for him because he was a survivor of the 1999 earthquake in Istanbul. The powerful earthquake at 3 a.m. devastated his neighborhood, and while he and his wife were able to safely evacuate their apartment building, many in the area did not.

“When we got out of the building, we couldn’t believe what we saw. Many buildings collapsed.” It’s very similar to what we saw last month. It’s kind of deja vu.”

Palabek and Agartan are grateful to the university for agreeing to run the fund campaign and for the support the campaign has received from the Framingham State community.

“Many of our colleagues not only reached out to us personally, but also donated as much as possible,” said Agartan.

Ajartan said participating in the fund’s campaign helps relieve at least some of the grief he and his fellow Turkish American faculty feel.

“Being so far away from the area, not being able to directly participate in the relief or other efforts now underway in the country, is the least we can do,” he said.

“This is giving back to the country we grew up in,” Balbek said. “But more than that, it’s giving ourselves away because while we’re not there, we can still help. It’s kind of healing for the trauma we’re going through.”

To donate to Framingham State University’s Earthquake Relief Fund, find crowdfunding under the Giving tab at Framingham.edu.

John Laidler can be reached at [email protected].

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