As the funds become available, these will be used to transfer to trusted individuals and/or organizations to take care of urgent organizational needs on the ground in earthquake regions. Even if you have donated to the bigger campaigns for relief, please consider donating to RIT to diversify the resources for the most vulnerable in the region. You can use these channels to donate:

Venmo  @ResearchInstituteOnTurkey-NY

On February 6, 2023, at 04:17, Turkey woke up to a dark day. One of the deadliest in the history of the country, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.8 and 7.5 hit central Turkey and Syria, affecting nearby countries and many cities where some 15 million people live.

The toll of the earthquake, which heavily affected the region where it occurred, especially Hatay, Maraş, Antep, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Osmaniye, Adana, Adıyaman and Urfa, is in the order of thousands and still rising.

Snowy winter exacerbates the humanitarian disaster, as many affected regions are yet unattended by rescue teams. Turkey declared a Level-4 emergency alert that includes a general call for international support. According to the initial reports from the region, many people either lost their lives or are still under the rubble, and thousands were left homeless in cold weather conditions or cannot enter their homes. Despite the incremental weather, search and rescue teams continue their work in the region. Concern grows deeper that the weight of the destruction is more serious than we can currently see.

From the very first moment of the earthquake, many local aid and support organizations have been mobilized and are trying to reach and provide aid to the earthquake victims as conditions allow. There is an urgent need for immediate actions and resources such as food, winter clothing and shelter support.

Research Institute on Turkey calls for the international community to provide immediate support for recovery efforts by raising funds that will be transparently transferred to Ahbap Derneği as well as other active and respected non-governmental organizations in Turkey, which are working in the affected region, mobilize local and international support. Donation updates will be frequently shared on the campaign page.

Your urgent support and assistance to earthquake victims are very important and vital.Every penny counts and all donations will support the recovery efforts. As needs emerge, we will support local and vetted partner organizations in the region. Please help us spread the word.

Organizer:

Research Institute on Turkey (RIT)Research Institute on Turkey, Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization in New York State, USA. EIN: 81-4004031

Supporting institutions:

Turkey Litigation Support Project

Supporting Academics and Researchers:

Canan Dağdeviren, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

Çağhan Kızıl, Columbia University, USA

Eylem Delikanli, Research Institute on Turkey, USA

Aylin Tekiner, Research Institute on Turkey, USA

Ayşe Bingöl Demir, Turkey Litigation Support Project, UK

Yektan Türkyılmaz, Central European University, Austria

Gülce Nazlı Dikeçligil, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Esra Akcan, Cornell University, USA

Onur Günay, Princeton University, USA

Işın Önol, University of Applied Arts, Austria

Lara Fresko, Bard College, USA

Civan Özkanoğlu, Artist, USA

Semir Beyaz, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA

Bruce Alberts, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and National Academy of Sciences (NAS), USA

Richard Mayeux, Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and National Academy of Medicine (NAM), USA

Nancy Green, Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), USA

Can Erbil, Boston College, USA

Tolga Can, Colorado School of Mines, USA

Tolga Özmen, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

Aslı Arda, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Derya Sargın, University of Calgary, Canada

Tobias Noebauer, The Rockefeller University, USA

Ayça Çubukçu, London School of Economics, UK

Marianne Hirsch, Columbia University, USA

Leo Spitzer, Dartmouth College, USA

Arnold Aronson, Columbia University, USA

Diana Taylor, New York University, USA

Lorie Novak, New York University, USA

Ali Yaycıoğlu, Stanford University, USA

Ayça Alemdaroğlu, Stanford University, USA

Selçuk Şirin, New York University (NYU), USA

Mete Atatüre, University of Cambridge, UK

Ayten Gündoğdu, Barnard College, USA

Lydia Lynch, Harvard Medical School, USA

Özge Samancı, Northwestern University, USA

Maria Jose, Columbia University, USA

Işınsu Baylam Toker, California Polytechnic State University and OPTICA, USA

We urgently request donations to establish an emergency fund for Academics for Peace to support the faculty who lost their jobs, pensions, and their right to travel abroad after the recent crackdown targeting academic freedom in Turkey. This fund will be made exclusively available to purged faculty through close collaboration with the union Egitim-Sen and other associations that are actively assisting the purged scholars at the local and international level.

Help us reach our initial goal of $105,000. We will be able to support about 35 academics for a period of 6 months with minimum wage in Turkey (approx. $500) with this initial fund. Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. No goods or services were provided in exchange for this donation.

Please use the link below to donate for the campaign! Thank you!