Gathering at a tree of remembrance planted last year, the Leader of Haringey Council, Cllr Peray Ahmet, and Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Ajda Ovat, addressed representatives of our Kurdish and Turkish communities at this memorial event.
All attendees were given an opportunity to also reflect on the lives lost and adversely affected in this devastating tragedy and share thoughts with each other prior to a performance of traditional music and poetry.
Cllr Ovat commented:
These earthquakes had a big impact on our Kurdish and Turkish communities.
Last year, we gathered here to plant a tree to mark the anniversary of the earthquakes as a symbol of remembrance and hope – to remember lives lost and to hold hope for survivors, their families and the communities that had been affected.
It’s important we continue to make time and space to share and connect through these difficult feelings, even as time moves on.
This kindness and compassion are what helps us work through the hardest of times and anchors us in how privileged we are to have such a great network of people in Haringey.
Cllr Ahmet said:
Countless Haringey residents were affected by, and lost loved ones to, the earthquakes. I want to acknowledge the individual and collective pain felt in this community following such significant loss and destruction.
We are proud to have a thriving Kurdish and Turkish community in Haringey. From the businesses that bustle on Green Lanes and the wonderful teachers in our local schools to some of our hard-working local councillors, our Turkish and Kurdish residents are at the heart of Haringey’s community.
The kindness, compassion and grit we saw in response to the earthquakes, mobilised so quickly and selflessly, was deeply touching. That went beyond the initial days and weeks of the disaster too into months of organising and delivering help.
A huge number of people were involved in that effort, including many of you here, and I’d like to once again take this opportunity to give thanks for all that incredible support in the community.
The thoughts of everyone at Haringey Council remain with the friends and relatives of those who perished in the Syria and Turkey earthquakes at this sad and difficult time.
