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- [00:02]
Andy Choi
From Rotary Magazine, this is the Rotary Voices Podcast. I'm Andy Choi. Last episode, Rotary magazine contributor Hannah Shaw took us through Hattay Province in southeast Turkey, which was featured in the blockbuster movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. During the 2023 Turkey Syria earthquakes, Hattay Province sustained severe damages. More than 23,000 people lost their lives and more than 30,000 were injured. Regional Rotary leaders shared how they strategized their response just a couple hours after the first earthquake. Their subsequent plan would grow into a multi million dollar global relief effort that is ongoing today. In this episode, the journey continues as Rotary magazine editor JP Swenson takes us to the city of Adeyaman, where local Rotary volunteers provided aid and comfort to earthquake survivors despite the great personal loss they themselves suffered.
- [01:07]
JP Swenson
In a valley in southeastern Turkey, there's a city called Adeyaman. A clock tower stands tall in the city center. The statue of a golden eagle sits above the four clocks fixed in the tower's column. But there's something chilling about these clocks. They are all frozen in time at 4:17, the moment of the first earthquake that devastated this city in February of 2023. It's one year after the earthquakes, a hot day in April. The harsh sun above is setting on Adeyaman. The golden light glistening on the clock tower's trimming traffic swerves through the surrounding roundabout. And Suat Baisan eagerly waits to cross the street to visit the clock tower again. He calls it sacred.
- [01:55]
Suat Baisan
It's sacred, very historical, and feelings are very high when you stand in front of this tower.
- [02:05]
JP Swenson
In the area around it, shells of destroyed buildings and abandoned businesses loom over fields of rubble where people are still sifting through what once was large machinery tears down buildings with cracked windows, tilted and unstable. Countless apartments remain uninhabitable. In the days that followed the earthquakes, crowds of survivors gathered around this clock tower to grieve their loved ones and their city.
- [02:31]
Suat Baisan
The tower stopped because the tower didn't want to witness what's going to happen in the next minute. I cried when I first came here.
- [02:40]
JP Swenson
Suat was a Rotary district governor at the time. Together with his fellow district governor Emre Azturk, Suwat had his boots on the ground all over Turkey, helping to build the infrastructure for Rotary's relief efforts. In Adeyemen alone, Rotary built a field hospital, container homes, an animal hospital, a kindergarten, a water filtration system, and that's just scratching the surface.
- [03:04]
Suat Baisan
Rotary has done a great, great work here, so I'm really proud. A lot of things have been put together and people are working to rebuild and reshape their lives again. They have lost their loved ones, that's for sure. But now they are trying to rebuild, redesign their futures. That's what makes me very happy.
- [03:24]
JP Swenson
Souad is right. There's still a lot of work to be done in Adeyaman before life will feel normal again. After all, mountains still peek through what remains of the city's skyline, no longer blocked by towering concrete. On those distant mountaintops, cranes are building new housing. But ultimately, those cranes serve as a constant reminder to residents that that today the city is in an extended period of transition. In the meantime, with Rotary's help, hope has returned to Adeyaman. And that's what brings me here. Since the earthquakes in 2023, which killed more than 55,000 people in Turkey and Syria, Rotary has distributed over US$4 million to support affected communities in Turkey. This relief touched nearly all facets of life in southeast Turkey, from donating pregnant cows to farmers to mental health resources for children. Emre and Suat have been traveling around the region with me and my colleague Hannah Shah to show us Rotary's impact in the aftermath of the earthquakes. It's hard to overstate Rotary's work here. And while I could list the number of container homes donated or the tonnage of water that's been filtered for drinking, that's not why Suad and Emre brought me to Adeyaman. I'm here to meet their friend, a man named Ferit Binzet. Ferit lives in a neighborhood in the center of Adeyemen, just down the street from a beautiful garden, the Adeyaman Museum, and the city's soccer stadium. Our entourage's van pulls up to Ferit's apartment building and we head inside. A few bags of pet food sit on the floor. Ferit and his wife, MATAP, distribute about 2 tons of this food to the stray cats and dogs of Adeyaman. Every year, they receive the food from Rotarians around the country. If Ferit and Matap are nothing else, they are animal lovers. Their cat, Maya, sits with Matop all day while she works in her art studio. As I walk up the stairs, Matt, I see vines painted along the walls. This, too, is Mitap's work. When she's not working on her art, she's serving as president of the Rotary Club of Adeyam and Nemrut. Today, Mitap's parents are visiting, and we're just in time for tea and coffee. Their apartment is picturesque. The walls are adorned with more of Mitap's Designs. I look around and see pictures of Ferit's family, of his life before the earthquakes. Ferret was born in Adeyemen and has spent the vast majority of his life here working as a broadcast journalist for mainstream Turkish channels for over 25 years. He's also a Rotarian, just like Metab. Emre translates as. I ask Ferit to paint a picture of his life before the earthquake.
- [06:22]
Ferit Binzet
One of the best is in the southeastern part of Turkey. Yeah, there are, you know, lakes and dams around the city. And the Nemro Mountain, they call it the eighth wonder of the world. So now it is one of the worst cities in the region because of the earthquake. It affected here very much than the others. You know, many people died, many people left. Those who had, you know, higher education, they all left the city. So there was a brain migration. Those who stayed here are the ones who couldn't go away. They didn't have any money or opportunity or any profession to be able to go somewhere else.
- [07:08]
JP Swenson
Ferit and Matab didn't always live in this apartment. They lived in a building on the southeast corner of Adeyemen, in a neighborhood called Altin Shahir. They had a beautiful home and a beautiful garden. Ferret recalls waking up to the sounds of birds in the morning. He built a shelter on their balcony so the stray cats could escape the snow in the winter. February 6, 2023, the morning of the earthquake.
- [07:40]
Ferit Binzet
The night before, the cat was so uncomfortable, so it was always meowing until 4am in the morning. They believe she felt the earthquake.
- [07:53]
JP Swenson
Farid and Metap had just fallen asleep 10 or 15 minutes ago when suddenly.
- [08:00]
Ferit Binzet
They heard the, you know, sounds like. And the, you know, the bed was shaking. They understood it was an earthquake. They had a long corridor in the house, and the walls exploded into the corridor. And then he prayed to the God that, my God, please don't take my soul here. And he started to cry. And then the walls of the kitchen completely fell off.
- [08:35]
JP Swenson
They managed to escape and ran outside. Ferit looked back at the building and saw his brother, who was staying with them at the time.
- [08:42]
Ferit Binzet
So when he went out the house. But his brother stayed in the home because he was shocked.
- [08:48]
JP Swenson
Screams rang out, heavy rain. Waves of concrete were rolling through the streets. Buildings wavered and fell around him. The back wall of Faradimitop's building collapsed. And then after 85 seconds of trembling, the earth stilled.
- [09:08]
Ferit Binzet
So when the earthquake stopped, his brother was still at home. So he ran into the house. So he slapped him to, you know, make him conscious again. And his wife said, you know, we can't leave without the cats. Everywhere were dust and rubbles. So they found the two cats and then they took them out and then left the house. And they never entered again.
- [09:40]
JP Swenson
The cats were trembling. Matap Ferit and his brother were standing in the rain, soaking wet. They had no car, it was in the shop. Finally, a few hours later, Ferit's brother in law came to pick them up.
- [09:56]
Ferit Binzet
When they're driving from the main street and they've seen all the buildings collapsed onto the road, then everybody started to cry. It was like a horror movie. When I looked at the buildings, three out of every five buildings were collapsed. And everybody was screaming under the rubbles. People were shouting, save us, rescue us, we can't breathe. He recorded this, you know, with his cell phone. And, you know, he sent it to news centers.
- [10:32]
JP Swenson
When Ferret called the mainstream news channels to tell them about the earthquake, he was met with an unexpected response.
- [10:38]
Ferit Binzet
They said, you know, it's not time now. They're calling from Antakya, there's an earthquake there. And he calls again. And then they say, no, no, it's not the time. They're calling from Malatia. And he calls again, no, no. They call from Diyarbakar. And he understand that the, you know, earthquake is everywhere.
- [10:55]
JP Swenson
So far called a fellow journalist in the city at the time. His friend was sitting at one of the popular bazaars in the city.
- [11:02]
Ferit Binzet
And his friend told him that, you know, it's completely collapsed. There is no Adeyaman anymore. Then he understood, you know, how big the earthquake was.
- [11:11]
JP Swenson
The roads were blocked by rubble, so they were forced to walk around. Farat and his brother wanted to check on their mother, who had Alzheimer's. When they arrived at her house, the door was wide open and her nurse had left.
- [11:24]
Ferit Binzet
So his mom said, you know, I'm dizzy, what's happening? So she didn't understand the earthquake and his Alzheimer's.
- [11:31]
JP Swenson
They tried to convince her to leave the building. But then at 1:24pm the second earthquake began.
- [11:42]
Ferit Binzet
So they had to run away. They had to leave their mom because they couldn't take her safely.
- [11:50]
JP Swenson
But his brothers stayed with their mom.
- [11:53]
Ferit Binzet
Perit was out of this outside the building. So he saw the next building was turning, was not shaking, it was turning. And when the earthquake stopped, half of the the building was collapsed completely. And then his brother jumped off the balcony.
- [12:08]
JP Swenson
Ferret, his brother and their mom made it out safely. All around them they saw buildings collapse. As the second earthquake stopped.
- [12:19]
Ferit Binzet
Many people were at their houses, you know, Trying to get their, you know, personal stuff from the houses. You know, most of those who were rescued from the first earthquake died because they entered to their houses trying to get their personal items. And then the earthquake, second earthquake happened, and they also died.
- [12:40]
JP Swenson
After the second quake, Ferit's phone rang. It was one of his friends. Has the looting started? His friend asked. Why everybody is trying to save their lives. Ferret replied. His friend explained that there's looting after every earthquake. And within the first 24 hours in Adeyemen, all the markets were looted.
- [13:01]
Ferit Binzet
He says, may Allah, you know, forgive us for what we have done during those harsh times.
- [13:09]
JP Swenson
People became desperate. There was no electricity, no food, and little shelter. Ferit pulls out his phone to show me a video he took in a gym on the first night.
- [13:19]
Ferit Binzet
People had already settled there, you know, he thought that, you know, people were lying there. And he went to the security guard and he said that, you know, many people are lying on the floor. Why is that so? And the security guard said that they are not alive people. They're dead bodies. And then he fainted. Yeah, Farid fainted. The first few days, the, you know, dead bodies were coming in trucks, you know, many, many. And he said, if, you know, the dead bodies were being transported by trucks, then the Adeyaman is finished.
- [13:56]
JP Swenson
The rain didn't stop for three days as survivors tried to recover the bodies of their loved ones. The army wrote numbers on the bodies, arms and took pictures of them. Survivors could visit an online archive of the photos to find where their relatives were buried. Ferret lost A total of 41 relatives in the earthquakes.
- [14:18]
Ferit Binzet
Grand aunt, two of her sons, their spouses, their children, their uncles, five daughters.
- [14:30]
JP Swenson
A few weeks before my colleague Hanna and I came to Turkey, it was Ramadan, a holy month of fasting, prayer and reflection in the Islamic faith. A holiday when people across the country spend time with their loved ones. But for Farad and Mattap, it's become a reminder of what they lost in the earthquakes.
- [14:50]
Ferit Binzet
So we had a very nice life here in Adeyaman before the earthquake. But, you know, after the earthquake, we don't have anybody here. You know, all the relatives gone. During the Ramadan and other holidays, people visit each other. We used to go to 15, 20 different places in the past. So the last Ramadan, we could only go to two houses. We. We don't have. We don't have anybody here. We can't recover the people we lost. They will not come back. I have no one left. So all the wealth you could have in this world Money, all the properties, all the things you have, they don't mean anything at this moment.
- [15:50]
JP Swenson
Every day, immediately following the earthquakes, Ferit was crying. He wanted to leave Adeyaman as many did. Those who stayed had no choice. But fortunately for the people of Adeyemen, Ferit found a reason to stay there. Farad pulls up another video on his phone. It shows a toilet overflowing with waste and menstrual products.
- [16:13]
Ferit Binzet
So this was a filter toilet because there was no water, nobody cleaning there. There are hygienic pets over there, women's hygienic pets. So when he broadcasted these, you know, hygienic pets came here to, to the region, then he understood what a big mission he has here. All the people needed help and he was also reporting as a journalist. And every day he was reporting the a list of needed items on the news channels. So he was asking for, for example, hygiene material. Then lots of hygiene material comes and then another need arises, for example, underwear. Then he asks for underwear, then comes the underwear. So every day he was, you know, reporting the list of needs.
- [17:15]
JP Swenson
Ferret's news reporting helped him understand and broadcast the needs of Adeyaman and its people throughout the day of the earthquakes. Emre, whose district encompasses the affected area, called local Rotary Club presidents and district team members who live there. One of his calls was to Ferret, who was then the president of the Rotary Club of Adiam and Nemerit. Ferret's talents as a journalist reporting the needs of his community proved vital when he communicated with Emre.
- [17:43]
Ferit Binzet
When we reported no needs, you know, Emre governor, he provided tents, but this was like a race because tents were needed everywhere in the earthquake area, but they were limited.
- [18:04]
JP Swenson
The roads were in ruins. But Emre and Suat made it to Adeyamen slowly but surely. With the help of Ferret and local Rotary members, they founded the first tent city in Adeyemen.
- [18:15]
Ferit Binzet
We set up the tents and then there were some other needs for those people living in the tent cities. People needed a blanket, kids, clothes, beds, mattresses, anything you can imagine, you know, they needed. So everybody was in rush to help. So there was a collaborative from all around the world. Everything was packed and then sent to the earthquake region. Then we set up a base here at Yemen and we collected all the goods coming to that base and distributed to those who needed them.
- [18:57]
JP Swenson
Emre stayed in the tent city for 45 days to help Ferret facilitate the relief effort. If cargo planes arrived at the airport and no one was there to receive them, the planes had to Take off with the aid. So Ferret and Emre arranged transportation from the airport to the city. Rotary established a dedicated disaster response fund that received more than $2.7 million in contributions. And global grants provided an additional $1.4 million. So where did that money go? Well, in Adiaman, like other affected cities, it went towards immediate efforts like tent cities, medical needs, generators, and then the second stage was container cities, which you heard about in the last episode. And finally the money went to long term recovery projects like field hospitals, schools and water filtration systems.
- [19:47]
Ferit Binzet
When you're telling people that Rotary is the world's one of the oldest and the largest NGOs, it doesn't mean anything to most of the people. But when you show these people really understand that it is really a big ngo.
- [20:05]
JP Swenson
Ferit's role in organizing this relief in Adeyemen cannot be overstated. Despite their great personal loss, he and Mata were able to bring hope to their city. And realistically, Rotary members accomplished far more with these projects than I can even list here. So instead I'm going to take you with me. As Suat, Emre, Ferit and Matap give us a glimpse into Rotary's work in Adeyaman, starting with the field hospital that has been operational since April of 2023. The hospital is currently in a container city, but initially this was the site of a tent city. It treats about 200 patients every day and it has its own generators, an ambulance, monitoring and ultrasound devices, a blood testing lab, and even a dedicated container that doctors can sleep in following their shifts.
- [20:54]
Suat Baisan
So this is the doctor's first initial room when the patient comes in, the patient, the nurse, the first treatment and where they check the patient. Here.
- [21:13]
JP Swenson
Today, chief physician Mesut Khojedaye sits with a patient surrounded by the hospital's white canvas walls.
- [21:26]
Suat Baisan
Full time doctor in this hospital.
- [21:29]
JP Swenson
Mesut is also a survivor of the earthquakes in Adeyaman. Can you talk a little bit about what he saw and what he.
- [21:44]
Suat Baisan
Rows were closed and he was hearing the screams of the people who were under the rubble. He never thought that he's going to continue living.
- [21:57]
JP Swenson
I asked Masood what the strain on the healthcare system in Adeyemen looked like immediately after the earthquakes.
- [22:07]
Suat Baisan
He's saying that the health system also collapsed because there was even no place to bury the death. They were just lying in the corridors in the hospitals, treatment of the wounds, bleeding, amputations with aches, basically trauma.
- [22:25]
JP Swenson
Other healthcare workers came from all over the world to help with the cases. Massoud is very grateful for Them as they helped prevent the system from further collapse.
- [22:36]
Suat Baisan
So first three, four days were the most difficult because there was no electricity, no power, no water, no heating and it was very cold. Three days outside without any clothing, on his own himself. One thing was they sort of lost their morality of living.
- [22:57]
JP Swenson
People lost their appetites, suffered from scabies and gastrointestinal diseases and endured poor hygienic conditions. Some injuries suffered will last a lifetime. But today Massoud's biggest concern is Covid mutations. Fortunately, the hospital is equipped with a vaccine refrigerator and a vaccination area for children. Suat walked me through the container city next to the field hospital.
- [23:26]
Suat Baisan
Okay, now we are at the container city that has been constructed by municipality of Mercine and we helped them to construct this site by the help of whole Rotary family in the world. So you will see all these containers with plackets where the Fonsa come from. So it's fully furnished, including TV utensils and everything. So two streets are there. One street is Imagine street and the other one is Hope street. So let's have a look at one of the families.
- [24:06]
JP Swenson
Sedet Picciarici is a 74 year old woman living in one of these Rotary container homes just a short distance from the field hospital. I asked Sadet about her life before the earthquakes and how it's different today.
- [24:19]
Suat Baisan
It was a proper life. His children were married and she was living alone. She has a nice house in the city with two rooms and a large living room. He says, are you happy that you're living in this container? He says, thanks God thousand times. We are praying for those who have really helped us. And since I'm also old and living alone, life is very difficult for me.
- [24:57]
JP Swenson
Suar asked her about the field hospital. She didn't realize that this too was a Rotary project.
- [25:03]
Suat Baisan
But now she realized that it's been done by Rotary. She's oh, we're very happy with the health center. It's been completed by Rotary already. Amazing.
- [25:14]
JP Swenson
What are her hopes for the future?
- [25:17]
Suat Baisan
It's not my grand nationals. First thing I wish is I would keep on having a composure in my body so I don't keep on walking and enjoying life.
- [25:28]
JP Swenson
Her hopes echo those of survivors we spoke to all over Turkey. For many the way forward starts with their children and grandchildren. And so what does she have for her grandchildren?
- [25:39]
Suat Baisan
Let them study, go to school and become citizens of this country. They are also living in a container city.
- [25:49]
JP Swenson
The last prong of the Rotarians Response Plan is sustainable long term projects. And this is where Adiyaman's vision for the future really comes into view. It's just a couple of days after Turkey's national sovereignty and Children's Day, a national holiday celebrating the Grand national assembly of Turkey's founding in 1920. Turkey's founder, Mustafa Ataturk, believed that Turkey's bright future would materialize through its youth, an ideal that is not lost on the nation. Today, our caravan makes a stop at a local kindergarten that was rebuilt with funds from Japanese rotary zones 1, 2 and 3. The school's principal, Saliha Oslam Atli, welcomes us today. The holiday decorations still hang amidst toys and mini chairs. I wanted to learn more about what the immediate needs of the kids were after the earthquakes and what it's been like to work with them. Emre translates for us.
- [26:56]
Ferit Binzet
The first thing they needed was love, caring, and then environment for school. So they didn't have it at the beginning. So at first, since the families were also affected by the earthquake and they had traumas as well, they didn't care their children. So the children needed some, you know, caring. And when, you know, she started here as the principal, as manager of the school, the children didn't have any hope. So that is what they gave at the beginning. So after that, they needed materials like toys, like books for children, because this is kindergarten. With the support of, you know, our clubs, they now have all of these stuff. And this kindergarten is at the outskirts of the city, so it's like a rural area. So nobody can believe that there's such a nice school here. And she says the team here is also great. The kids now are in a much better position than the first case. So they every morning hug their teachers and kiss them and they start the lectures. But also the teachers had trauma. Some are still living in containers, but as a family here, they're, you know, supporting each other and they're happier than before.
- [28:14]
JP Swenson
What are the aspirations of some of the kids? I'm kind of curious what they want to be when they grow up or their dreams.
- [28:26]
Ferit Binzet
She says there are students who has never been to a theater, has never gone to a movie, at a cinema. So her first project is taking them to theaters and movies. Most of the students want to be teachers when they grow up because they have very limited role models. So they only see the teachers here and they want to become teachers when they grow up. I want to make this school the best. In kindergarten. In Adiyaman.
- [29:06]
JP Swenson
Fared and Matap were eager for our next stop, a veterinary clinic, which includes a pet ambulance aptly named a Pawbulance. I think the pun lands a bit better in Turkish. When we enter the clinic, a cat stands on a metal table in the middle of the room, surrounded by the vet's staff. Today this cat is being treated with internal and external parasite medication. MEOWS and barks echo from nearby rooms.
- [29:35]
Ferit Binzet
Maybe the first pet clinic of Rotary on the world, as far as we know.
- [29:40]
Suat Baisan
Yeah.
- [29:40]
JP Swenson
Was this fully funded by Rotary?
- [29:42]
Ferit Binzet
Yes.
- [29:43]
JP Swenson
The clinic is named after a dog named Proteo.
- [29:46]
Ferit Binzet
Proteo was a Mexican search and rescue dog who came during the earthquake. Proteo saved two lives under the rubbles and then he had an accident during the rescue and he lost his life here. So he saved two lives and also he gave his life as well, you know, here. So this clinic is devoted to his name.
- [30:17]
JP Swenson
The clinic sees anywhere from five to 30 animals a day, according to Metop Odin, a vet at the clinic.
- [30:23]
Suat Baisan
She says there was an increase in the stray animals after the earthquake and also other diseases have increased. So it's very proper for the human as well as the animal health. It's very important that this clinic provides that service.
- [30:46]
JP Swenson
So now you've heard from a few of these projects in Adiamen, it was clear to me that Rotary's efforts here in the city have touched every element of life, both long term and short term, both human and animal. And it's largely thanks to Ferret and Mata, who overcame great personal loss to help their community in the face of tragedy, bringing hope to their city. Ferret was able to leverage his friendships all over the globe and apply his background as a reporter to make this all come together. And at least some things a year after the earthquakes are business as usual. Children bike and play in the streets. Conversation is exchanged over aromatic platters of kebab and the melodic echo of prayer crackles over loudspeakers five times a day. It's April 26, 2024, 12:48pm Prayer time in Adeyemen. Metap and Ferret step out of their car into the city stillness of their old neighborhood, where they lived before the earthquakes. Their apartment spills into the street around them, where it will stay until the city clears the rubble. Ferit is yelling the word ge. So what is he calling that right now?
- [32:09]
Ferit Binzet
He's calling the cat they were looking after at the garden. His name is means night. So he's, you know, very fond of animals, you know.
- [32:21]
JP Swenson
So how often does he come back here?
- [32:26]
Ferit Binzet
He comes here quite often to feed the animals. Yeah. So the cats and dogs, you know, know Fet and met up. And when they come, they know that there's food with them. So.
- [32:40]
JP Swenson
And so how does he feel when he comes here and sees, you know, his. His old house?
- [32:52]
Ferit Binzet
All his memories were here. When they married, they moved here and they lived here for 12 years. So when they come here, they think what they have experience at the earthquake, how they survived. So it makes them down to come here. But they regularly come to feed the animals. Oh, every, every time she comes here, she lives that day again. So it's not easy for them. They remember how they left the house, the sound, you know, when they go to the psychologist, when they, you know, tell their stories. The psychologist cried more. And most of the time she said, okay, let's don't do it today. So there's sad stories. Not only our house and our bad experience, but all the people we know, all our neighbors we knew. So everywhere that we look, you know, we remember the beloved ones and we also suffer from their pains. So we got used to all those rubbles and collapsed buildings. And when you look at this, you know, we got used to those, you know, landscapes everywhere. When we go out of Adiyaman, then it's weird to us, you know, there is no dust, there are no holes, there are no clothes lapse buildings. We got used to these, you know, seen every day in Adey. And we have never visited anyone living in an upper story building. It still disturbs us.
- [34:41]
JP Swenson
And so is it therapeutic to help people in the way that they've helped people? Does it help them?
- [34:52]
Ferit Binzet
Relieves them a lot. That was the thing that rehabilitated us, helping the other people. And I have seen many people who had more sorrow than I had. He says, so helping them is, you know, makes us feel better. He says, thank God although they had a bad experience, many people had worse experiences.
- [35:16]
JP Swenson
And so what does he hope for the future for Adi.
- [35:20]
Ferit Binzet
Amen. It is very difficult for the city to get to a situation. All the people lived here have inhaled asbestos and we have higher risks of cancer. You pray for us. That's what he says. Thank God there is Rotary. Thank God I'm a Rotarian. Thank God we have friends like, you know, Governor Emre and you like people all around the world. Yeah. So he says it's better to say thank God instead of saying I wish.
- [36:25]
JP Swenson
I only met Ferret and Matop yesterday. Yet as we stand outside the ruins of their old life with Gege the cat looking on nearby, it feels like I've known Ferit for a lifetime. As I look back on our trip. I think in some ways I met him a thousand times. I saw him and his fellow survivors who live in the containers he helped bring to Adeyaman. I saw him and his fellow Rotarians like Suad and Emre. I even saw him in Gege, the cat who answered his calls, seeking comfort in his friend from a previous life before the city they both knew so well was turned upside down. As we drove out of Adeyaman through the mountainous road, I felt sad to leave. I knew I would miss Ferret and Matab. But next to my sadness, I also felt hope and pride that I'm on the long list of lives that Ferret and Metap have touched.
- [37:32]
Andy Choi
This episode of the Rotary Voices Podcast was produced by JP Swenson and Hannah Shaw and edited by Wen Huang. Production by Yoo Soo Kim. I'm Andy Choi. If you enjoyed the show, please rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and share it with your friends. The Rotary Voices Podcast is produced by Rotary Magazine, the official monthly publication of Rotary International. Thanks for listening.