Turkey earthquake: Canadian family says embassy failed them after her sister was killed

The family of a Halifax woman killed in the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey earlier this month said they had no help from the Canadian embassy in the capital, Ankara, during their desperate attempts to find her.

Saad and Al-Muthanna Al-Zawraa flew to the city of Antakya to search for their missing sister, Samar Al-Zawraa, after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the southern Turkish city near the Syrian border on February 6.

Her body was recovered on February 14th.

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“The search was very stressful, and now we are just thinking about how to overcome our grief,” Saad Zora said in an interview with Global News.

Exacerbated by what they say is a government inaction, the Zuras family said, the brothers navigated red tape while making arrangements to travel to the quake-hit country to look for their sister.

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“They could have taken the bandage off faster and just said, ‘We can’t help,’ because that’s basically what happened,” said Saad, speaking from Kuwait.

Samar Zora was doing her PhD research in Turkey when massive earthquakes hit earlier this month. I submitted the photo

Summer, a Canadian citizen, was doing her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Duke University in the United States

She was in Turkey doing her research.

Saad said he provided all of his sister’s information, including her address in Antakya, to Global Affairs Canada as well as the Canadian Embassy in Ankara.

He said the lack of urgency in helping, the constant backtracking and “rerouting” added to their stress.

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Al-Muthanna said that the Canadian embassy referred him to the site and warned of the dangers of traveling to Turkey.

The two brothers went anyway.

Muthanna took a flight from Kuwait City, while Saad traveled from Halifax.

On their own, they organized an excavation, which revealed the body of their sister buried under the rubble of a collapsed building.

Now Elzora says they hope other Canadians will not have to face their plight.

“From my point of view, they didn’t do anything—period,” Muthana said. “I mean, all those texting and replying…with emails, that’s just a process. Nothing happens.”

“I hope no Canadian will ever go through this.”

The Zora brothers traveled to Turkey to try to find their sister, Samar, after the February 6 earthquake. Image courtesy: Summer Steenberg

In response to Global News’ questions about the matter, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said the officials’ thoughts are with Samar Zora’s family and friends.

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“Canadian consular officials in Ankara (Turkey) have been liaising with local authorities to gather additional information and have provided consular assistance to the family as appropriate. For privacy reasons, we are unable to disclose any further details,” a spokesperson said.

Global Affairs Canada is committed to providing efficient and effective consular service to Canadians around the world. Each consular situation is unique and the assistance we can provide will vary depending on the circumstances.”

The Canadian government website says that international consular services include advice and guidance if someone goes missing, but that every situation is different and that events such as natural disasters “may mean we are less able to help you.”

Al-Zouras, who were born in Kuwait, said they received more assistance from the Kuwaiti embassy, ​​even though they are not citizens of the Gulf country.

“They made all the arrangements, arranged our excursions, and took care of all the calls,” Saad said.

“It’s like a world of difference here.”

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Samar’s body was transferred last Friday to Kuwait, where her parents live.

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The family is now collecting money for others directly affected by the earthquake and for giving back to people in hard-hit Hatay province.

As of Thursday afternoon, the GoFundMe page has raised more than $3,500.

and copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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