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August 27, 1999/15 Elul 5759, Vol. 51, No.47
Turkish Jews help countrymen rebuild after quake
JULIE WIENER
and NAOMI SEGAL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Two vacationing Jews from Istanbul and 25 Israeli tourists were killed in last week's devastating earthquake in Turkey, according to the World Jewish Congress. Despite the deaths and scope of the tragedy, most Jewish citizens of Turkey emerged largely unscathed.
But the Jewish community - which numbers about 23,000 people, mostly in Istanbul - is still shaken, and is helping with the relief effort. "Some of us have suffered damage at plants and factories, but it cannot compare to what the poor population is going through," wrote Lina Filiba, a Turkish Jewish community professional, in an e-mail message to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. There have been no reports of damage to synagogues or other Jewish institutions.
In an effort coordinated by Turkey's chief rabbi, the Jewish community collected $50,000 for earthquake relief, said Tilda Levi, chief editor of Shalom, Turkey's Jewish newspaper. The chief rabbi could not be reached for comment.
According to Levi, Turkish Jews are also helping to construct pre-fabricated homes for the many people left homeless by the earthquake, and each day, 30 to 40 Turkish Jews are volunteering as translators for international relief workers. Jews are also involved in other relief efforts, said another Shalom editor, Luizet Palombo, who spent a recent Shabbat - with a group of co-workers from an American consulting firm - digging out corpses from a collapsed building.
"We still can feel that smell on our noses," she said, in a phone interview early this week, recalling the slow rescue work. "I didn't lose any relatives, but I lost some friends and neighbors," she added. "Everybody lost somebody he or she knows."
The Israeli government and American Jewish community are also aiding in relief efforts. Israel sent a team of more than 200 relief workers and airlifted several planeloads of supplies collected from Israeli citizens and corporations.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, American Jewish World Service, B'nai B'rith International and the American Jewish Committee are collecting funds for earthquake relief. (See box with this story.) The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which sends Jewish doctors to aid in relief efforts throughout the world, also has dispatched disaster relief specialist Dr. Richard Hodes to Turkey to assess medical needs in the field.
As hopes of rescuing more victims faded in the days following the deadly quake, there were patches of good news. In a rescue operation that defied shrinking odds, Israeli rescue teams saved a 9-year-old Israeli girl who had been trapped for four days in earthquake rubble.
Doctors said Shiran Franco was dehydrated but in good condition when they reached her early Saturday morning, Aug. 21. Her mother, Iris, who was rescued from the ruins on Thursday, Aug. 19, said the first thing her daughter asked for was a soft drink. Shiran also asked her mother why it had taken so long to reach her. "They worked very hard," Iris Franco responded.
Israeli teams on Saturday also recovered the bodies of Shiran's twin brother, her father and grand- parents. The bodies of another Israeli couple who had been vacationing in the resort town of Cinarcik were also found.
Rescue units reached Shiran around 4 a.m. on Saturday in the wreckage of an apartment building where she had been staying with her family. Maj. Eran Magen, who first spotted Shiran, said he decided to drill a hole in what he believed was the room in which the children had been sleeping.
"I drilled a hole and looked inside, and thought I saw a hand," Magen said. "I yelled down, and I think was answered. I ordered everyone to turn off the (drilling) equipment. From there, everything started moving quickly."
The reunited mother and daughter were flown back to Israel, where the girl was hospitalized at Sheba hospital in Tel Hashomer. Doctors marveled at her condition in light of the circum- stances. They said she would remain hospitalized until she was fully rehydrated, and until doctors could determine whether there is damage to internal organs or muscles.
Family members said Shiran has no recollection of the earthquake. Her mother said her daughter thought she had been in a car accident.
Israeli aid efforts, including a field hospital, continue to operate in Turkey. Some of the several tons of food, clothing and blankets collected in Israel for the earthquake victims were due to be sent to Turkey on Monday, Aug. 23.
Julie Wiener writes from New York, and Naomi Segal writes from Jerusalem.
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