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USC grad caught in the middle of deadly Turkey earthquake

Days after two large earthquakes rocked Turkey and Syria the country, killing thousands and destroying entire cities, many are still displaced.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A former University of South Carolina student who lives in Turkey says his family lost their homes after the deadly earthquake.

There were frantic moments for Ufuk Ozar and his three kids on Monday as his home in Turkey was shaken by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. 

Ozar is a USC graduate and lived in Columbia while studying for his PhD. He says his hometown of Malatya was completely destroyed in Monday's earthquake, which knocked down both his brother's and sister's homes.

"I wake up my kids and we all went outside and got in my car and we tried to drive somewhere safe," Ozar said. "Many streets are empty, all of the buildings are in the streets collapsed, it's like horror films."

Ozar says it took days for his building to be deemed safe to enter again, creating a challenge to find somewhere safe for him and his children to sleep. "One night in the car, another two nights in the school where I am working. I was in the school with my family."

His story is like many others according to Media and Literature Professor Evren Özselcuk from USC, who was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and has been following the events from South Carolina. She explains this week's earthquake could completely change the country's demographic, saying there are millions of Syrian refugees living in turkey who once again, wont have anywhere else to go.

   

"There is going to be an immense internal migration in turkey since it's going to take such a long time for them to get back on their feet if they stay there, they're going to migrate to other cities," Özselcuk said.

If you are interested in helping those impacted by the earthquake, Turkey's embassy suggests that you mail donations to their office in Washington, DC. That address is 2525 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008. Doctors without borders is also accepting monetary donation here

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