Dear resident,
The devastating earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria is a global disaster of enormous magnitude.
4.17am local time on February 7, the 7.8 magnitude quake sent waves of death and destruction across both countries, with tremors felt in neighbouring Lebanon and Greece.
And, when the dust settled, the realisation of this natural disaster became evident. Tens of thousands of people dead, many more thousands missing and more than 100,000 left homeless.
For me the images, and miraculous stories of survival, were the only glint of light to an awful tragedy. The vision of a newborn baby being pulled out of a collapsed building, passed around from one rescuer to another like a rag doll.
Other images like the man sitting on a concrete slab holding his trapped teenage daughter’s hand, not letting go, and not far away another father reaching through a steel grill and comforting his small child as he poured water into a bottle cap to give him a drink.
But what was heart wrenching were the families standing silently, listening for voices beneath the rubble… and the surge of people chanting “God is great”, as each survivor is freed by search and rescue teams.
The world response to this tragedy was instantaneous, with outpouring of grief and assistance flowing in from around the globe. Offers of food, clothing, manpower and money pouring in.
We can all play a part in helping those affected by donating to the organisations that are providing assistance. I urge you all to support the fundraising efforts by the various charitable organisations like the Emergency Action Alliance, Save the Children, CARE, UNICEF, World Vision and Medecins Sans Frontieres.
The humanitarian effort is huge, and we must all do our part to assist.
On behalf of our City, I extend our deepest condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those families affected by this terrible tragedy.
Yours sincerely,
Clr Khal Asfour
MAYOR
The World Observer Media produces a daily online newspaper, a daily Arabic online newspaper and a monthly printed Arabic/English magazine and a weekly printed Arabic/English newspaper.
The World Observer Media’s mission is to entertain and educate all generation from the Ethnic Communities in Australia, who are interested in local, national and foreign information. 
