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DRYDEN, N.Y. (WHCU) – As the death toll from catastrophic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria continues to rise, one Tompkins Cortland Community College professor is rallying support.
Professor of Psychology Amber Gilewski recently spent time in Istanbul, Turkey, teaching English to Turkish adults in a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) program through Cambridge. She made meaningful connections with her students and met many people she considers friends, traveling back to Istanbul several times, as recently as January.
Her planned return trip this month changed when news of the earthquakes broke.
She knew she wanted to help and plans to spend much of her time doing humanitarian aid work with her friends and former students, many of whom are embroiled in recovery and relief efforts in Istanbul, despite being a few hours away from the epicenter.
One of her former students, Emre Kaya, a Public Administration major in his last year at Istanbul University, recently traveled to Hatay for a three-day rescue and recovery mission. Professor Gilewski says it’s had a profound impact on him.
Professor Gilewski supports humanitarian aid in any form, including global relief agencies such as Unicef and Doctors Without Borders, but also recommends AKUT and the White Helmets out of Syria. She said recovery efforts in Syria have been difficult because the country lacks the necessary equipment, with many rescue efforts done with bare hands. Anyone who wishes to may also donate to Professor Gilewski directly. She will travel to Istanbul on Tuesday, February 21st, 2023, and will spend a week in the country helping in any way she can. She plans to donate her own money to relief efforts on the ground, and many of her colleagues have reached out and contributed.
“This is something that affects all of us,” said Gilewski. “I think we all need to be aware and help each other out. Borders are arbitrary.”