Laura and Dody spoke to their friend Francesca, a humanitarian worker who arrived in Gaziantep, Türkiye, in December 2022. She was looking forward to a quieter duty station after several assignments in emergency response in Iraq and Nigeria.
Then a devastating 7.8 earthquake struck on February 6th, 2023, with epicenter only 37 km from where she was.
She shared about the chaos of the first days of the catastrophe, the little things that brought her joy amidst the difficulties, and the solidarity that she formed with people around her. She highlighted the plight of survivors in the corners of Türkiye and Syria that have been mostly forgotten by much of the world.
Francesca is one of two Cairo Calling friends in Gaziantep. We also spoke with Ina and that conversation will come in the next episode.
Cairo Calling is made with friends, for friends. Thank you, Francesca, for sharing your stories and insights. This episode was made by Laura, and Dody, with original music and sound production by Tarek, and a Greek chorus by Peter and Raph.
Cairo Calling recommends the following organizations to support and donate to
Türkiye
Syria
Further Reading…
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