Around Sweden, collections of both money and materials are underway for the injured and homeless in south-eastern Turkey. A quick search on news sites tells about involvement in Laholm, Gothenburg, Ronneby, Rinkeby, Kalmar, Karlstad and so on.
Johanna Vallberg is a tour guide and since 2019 has lived in the resort of Alanya. She is also the chairman of the Swedish Culture and Friendship Association in Turkey and since Monday – when the earthquake changed everything – something of a coordinator for Swedish aid shipments.
The right things for the right place
Alanya is about 40 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, but the tremor woke everyone there as well. Vallberg says that the house she lives in rocked like a small boat at sea.
— I heard my neighbors coming out of the neighboring house and shouting “run, run, run!”.
Quite immediately she began to think in terms of help.
— I felt that “now we have to get a hold of this and do something” and it so happened that Ahmet Önal, chairman of the Swedish-Turkish National Confederation, messaged me from Sweden at the same time as I messaged him, says Johanna Vallberg on the phone from Alanya.
Their respective organizations, and a couple more, work together to ensure that the right things are bought with the money collected, and that clothes and other things donated by Swedes reach their destination.
— Sanitary products, such as toothbrushes and sanitary napkins, are not least needed now. There is also a great need for new children’s clothes. My task is to have a dialogue with the Turkish municipalities, so that they can help us ensure that the material arrives. You could say that my role is to tie the bag together, says Johanna Vallberg.
Countless trucks
She emphasizes that all involvement is welcome and necessary, but that collected funds must be followed up all the way.
“Many people, for example, do not think that customs duties take away the funds. It can be good to enlist the help of a larger organization, so that collected items do not lie around or go to waste.
For now, Johanna Vallberg remains in her hometown of Alanya. Going to the disaster areas is out of the question.
— The roads were closed. The only ones that are released are police, ambulances, fire engines and trucks with supplies. So far, most food and aid are transported from municipalities in all Turkish provinces, rather than foreign aid transports. Alanya alone sent 55 trucks a few days after the earthquake, she says.
Now she is waiting for the first shipments from Sweden.
— I will be fully occupied with this for some time to come. Eventually I also want to help in the disaster area, but for now I’m the spider in the web here.