Sancar Center: Tragedy in Turkiye Seminar & Fundraiser
February 12 at 4:00pm
Sancar Turkish Cultural and Community Center (STCCC)
The twin earthquakes in Turkiye (formerly Turkey) have likely killed tens of thousands and left many more missing. International relief agencies are assisting Turkish rescue workers, and governments have pledged assistance. Thousands of destroyed homes have left cities and villages without shelter for families in the frigid winter.
There will be presentations from:
- Ambassador Robert Pearson, former US Ambassador to Turkiye, speak about US-Turkish relations and a history of helping one another
- Proffesor Kathryn Morgan, Duke University archaeologist and co-director of the Zincirli dig, eight miles from the epicenter. Zincirli contains the remains of the ancient walled city of Sam’al, capital of an Iron Age kingdom that flourished from around 900 to 700 BCE. The adjacent village was flattened by the quake and little help has yet to arrive. The first Christian church at Antioch is also in the affected area.
- Prof. Kate Grossman, NCSU, has been researching civilizational sites in NW Syria and will share cultural aspects and importance of the affected area.
- Bridge to Turkiye Fund (BTF), a North Carolina non-profit established 20 years ago to assist the recovery after earthquakes left 17,000 dead in Turkiye. Since Feb 6, 2023, BTF has raised over $2 million with 100 percent transferred to Turkish relief agencies.
Speakers are available to address questions and concerns from attendees who would like to learn more about how to help the aid and recovery efforts.
Thank you to UNC Professors Aziz and Gwen Sancar for hosting the event. Professor Aziz Sancar was the corecipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Turkish refreshments will be provided. Donations via BTF encouraged.
For questions, please contact Doug and Can Dickerson, doug.dickerson@alumni.duke.edu or Kate Morgan, kathryn.morgan@duke.edu