The images of earthquake devastation in Syria and Turkiye have sent shockwaves across the globe, with several countries and international organizations rushing aid to help the displaced and injured.
But an individual’s altruistic act of anonymously contributing a massive amount for relief work has caught the world’s attention.
A Pakistani just walked into the Turkiye embassy in the United States and donated $30 million for the victims. However, the individual chose to remain anonymous, Pakistani officials and media reports said.
Pakistani Americans and leaders in South Asian countries heaped praise on the Pakistani’s gesture, which runs against the self-serving socio-political trends.
The anonymous huge individual donation sounds like an unbelievable act in the Internet and social media age when people post pictures to take credit for even the smallest acts of kindness.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also tweeted in praise of the Pakistani contributor.
Meanwhile, Turkiye and Syria continue to do the rescue and relief work, pulling out more bodies from the rubble of collapsed buildings. The earthquake struck the Türkiye and Syria border region before dawn on February 6, when people were sleeping. The cold weather made the tragedy more painful as the world awoke to the death and destruction that the 7.8 magnitude quake brought.
The latest reports put the death toll at more than 25,000.
While Turkiye is striving to carry out the rescue and relief work, Syria, wracked by a long-running civil war and faced with sanctions, has a huge challenge in taking care of the affected communities.
The United Nations says it sent more aid to northwest Syria to help victims of the still-unfolding earthquake tragedy, but humanitarians have warned that far more lifesaving help is needed, and much more quickly.
A total of 14 trucks crossed into opposition-held areas of Syria from Türkiye at Bab al-Hawa, the UN migration agency, IOM, said. According to the organization, the crossing is the only one authorized for aid deliveries by the UN Security Council, which has prompted calls – including from the Secretary-General – “to explore all possible avenues to get aid and personnel into all affected areas
