MARYLAND, USA — A doctor living in Maryland who has family in Turkey claims his relatives were forced to flee their homes without their belongings after the devastating earthquake on Monday.
Dr. Houssam al-Nahhas spoke with WUSA9 on Wednesday to raise awareness about the disaster. He told us that his family and his wife's family were living in the impacted region around Gaze and Malata when the earthquake hit.
"Immediately after the earthquake, they left and fled their houses. It was scary for them to have this experience," said Dr. al-Nahhas.
Adding that after speaking with his wife's family, he learned they had to flee their house without their belongings and just the clothing on their backs. His wife's family didn't even have the time to close the doors to their home while evacuating. They then had to spend the night outside in freezing temperatures, moving from their own cars to a building for a while to use the bathroom and then back.
Dr. al-Nahhas, who is the Middle East & North Africa Researcher for Physicians for Human Rights, says luckily for them they were able to eventually find shelter in a sports center opened by the governor. They spent the night there in the freezing temperatures again without food or water.
After two days of staying outside, Dr. al-Nahhas says his family decided to move south to meet up with other relatives there. He says this wasn't the best idea due to the whole region still experiencing some aftershocks, but for them, it was the only option.
"Honestly, personally, I feel helpless not being able to be there with them to support them," Dr. al-Nahhas said.
Dr. al-Nahhas explained he is a physician by training and worked in Syria delivering health care to war victims from 2011 to 2014. He has also dealt with trauma cases and mass casualty events related to the shelling and bombing that was going on in Syria during his time there.
Despite this experience, Dr. al-Nahhas claims to have "never seen so many casualties at one time," when speaking about the recent disaster.
Dr. al-Nahhas hopes by speaking out he can help raise awareness and express the urgent need to provide humanitarian aid immediately to the people affected.
He encourages anyone able to donate to do so and to support humanitarian organizations working tirelessly in Syria and Turkey to provide aid.
He ended his conversation with by saying, "I just want to say the earthquake happened almost 60 hours ago and at this point, each moment counts. So, the faster we act and try to support those affected by this disaster, the higher the chance for more survivors."
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