‘Most of the city has been destroyed’
08 February 2023
Ministry friends on the ground in Türkiye shared images of damages caused by the earthquakes. [Images courtesy of Soner, Shema Media Group]
On the day that a pair of major earthquakes struck southern Türkiye (formerly known as Turkey) and northern Syria, a TWR ministry friend made his way to the Turkish city of Antakya.
“Most of the city has been destroyed,” reported Soner, general manager of Shema Media Group.* (See Soner’s statement on video below.)
Antakya, which is the biblical city of Antioch, is part of a large swath of territory on both sides of the border that was devastated by the twin quakes. As of this writing, media are reporting the death toll has passed 11,000. Search and rescue efforts were hampered by cold conditions in both countries and because of the effects of a catastrophic civil war in Syria.
You can help. Our emergency fund will be used to allow TWR to continue producing comforting, Bible-based programs to Türkiye and Syria and may also be used to provide food, blankets, tents and other practical aid. If you’d like to help in this way, you can do so here.
Meanwhile, prayer is urgently needed. The director of TWR’s Arabic ministry and our TWR Europe team shared these prayer points with us:
- Pray for Syria and Türkiye, asking that the Lord would comfort the hearts of the families with his peace and for help to arrive quickly.
- A TWR Arabic Ministry colleague in Aleppo, Syria, asked for prayers because they are on the streets with no shelter and the weather is cold and harsh.
- Pray for the TWR media team in Syria as they are working to produce content through the program Hope for Syria that will communicate the message of hope in these challenging times.
- Pray for the churches in Syria as they unite to provide help to people facing challenging situations.
- Pray also for the two strong churches in the Turkish cities of Antakya and Diyarbakir as well as the Evangelical Alliance. Their leaders need wisdom in knowing how to help survivors.
- Pray that the local radio station in Antakya will be restored, so that the Christian message of hope and comfort may be heard by many
*We previously used a pseudonym for Soner and withheld the name of Shema Media Group. But Soner has assured us that he is comfortable with his first name and the name of the organization being used publicly.
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