President İdris Alan Became the Voice of NGOs

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry İdris Alan held a joint meeting with the NGOs operating in Elazığ regarding the earthquake disaster.

We are facing a disaster that occurs once every 500 years

Making joint statements on behalf of the NGOs at the meeting, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry Alan said: “We are facing a disaster that occurs once every 500 years. The destruction experienced in 11 of our provinces that suffered great damage following the earthquakes that deeply shook our country… And when we also take into account the harsh winter conditions, our pain is multiplied. We are following the rescue efforts carried out with great sacrifice and the developments with attention and sorrow. Once again, our condolences to our nation.

Today we have gathered here as the Elazığ business community and Non-Governmental Organisations to stand by the people of the region and our State with every kind of assistance so that our wounds can be healed as quickly as possible.

May God never let our State fall

There are points I must state first;

For years we have always heard and said that there is good in every evil. Today I ask you: if Elazığ had not experienced that earthquake we went through 3 years ago, would Elazığ be any different today from Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep or Hatay? It would not. After those difficult days we went through — may God never let our State fall — our buildings were renewed, our buildings that would collapse in a severe earthquake were identified and demolished. New ones were built in their place, praise be to God. The disaster we experienced then perhaps saved the lives of 10s of thousands of our fellow citizens whom we would have lost today.

Now, in the disaster we are in, we have collapsed buildings, buildings very close to collapse that have been evacuated, and naturally Members and Tradespeople who cannot enter their workplaces.

God willing, we will give good news as soon as possible.

 Our Members have requests for Elazığ also to be granted the status of a Region Affecting General Life. As with every request from our Members, we are conveying these requests to the relevant executive authorities. We have also conveyed this matter to our Member of Parliament, Mr. Metin Bulut, with whom we have been in constant contact since the moment of the Earthquake. May they be well, they are also closely interested in our requests and are following up the process. The Region Affecting General Life status is of great importance particularly for matters such as the assessment of damage to buildings and the resolution of the financial difficulties faced by our members and tradespeople with banks.

What does force majeure mean? Force majeure refers to situations that individuals or legal entities cannot prevent through their own efforts even if they wish to. Does the disaster we have experienced as Elazığ fit this definition exactly? It does.

As a result, we are the requesting authority and we are obliged to convey our requests to the executive authorities. God willing, we will give good news on this matter as soon as possible.

Under the coordination of TOBB, as the Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry and all NGOs, we are one voice and ready to support the region.

While we continue our struggle for our province day and night, I would like to state that, under the coordination of our umbrella organisation TOBB, as the Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry and all NGOs, we are one voice and ready to support the efforts of our State so that the wounds of the Earthquake can be healed as soon as possible, and ready to support the region, and that, as we have done from the very first minute in the efforts to heal the wounds, we have assumed and will continue to assume every responsibility that falls upon us in the ongoing process.

We are working in coordination with our chambers and commodity exchanges, our NGOs, our members and our tradespeople for our provinces affected by the earthquake. As the business community, today as yesterday, we will stand by our Dear Nation and by our State, which, today as yesterday, stands by our nation with all its means.

The people of Elazığ are self-sacrificing, charitable and brave.

From the first hours of the earthquake, thanks to the effective coordination we carried out together with the Board of Directors, Assembly, Committees and members of the Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we started an aid organisation to meet the urgently needed requirements in the earthquake regions. The organisation team we set up on the campus of the Elazığ CCI Service Building continues to deliver the emergency relief supplies provided by our members, tradespeople and citizens to our brothers and sisters in the earthquake region. From here, I would once again like to call on all our fellow citizens, members and tradespeople to deliver their in-kind donations to the Elazığ CCI Service Building. This is the day to be united, the day to stand by our brothers and sisters. The people of Elazığ are self-sacrificing, charitable and brave, and I believe this wholeheartedly.

I would also like to call once again from here on our valued tradespeople. In order that normal life is not adversely affected after the earthquake, we invite all our tradespeople to be at the head of their businesses in a spirit of solidarity. Please be at your work; if necessary, let us work 24 hours and get through this process together.

Once again, we pray for God's mercy upon our citizens who lost their lives in the Earthquake and wish a speedy recovery to our injured.