February 15, 2023
Dear Friends,
We are gathered here today to pay homage to the victims of one of the most devastating earthquakes in history.
My country, my people and the people of neighbouring Syria are grappling with the enormity of the destruction and loss of life they have suffered.
In Türkiye alone, the impacted area is around 110-thousand square kilometres.
Thousands of buildings have collapsed, and roads have been ruptured.
A total of 13.5 million people have been affected.
As of now, over 35 thousand people have lost their lives.
Miraculously, around 105 thousand people have been rescued from the rubble.
Hundreds of thousands more have lost their homes and livelihoods.
Not only have precious lives been lost, but also the remnants of many ancient civilizations have been ruined and buried.
We pray for all the victims and their families.
Dear Friends,
Numbers aside: People have lost their loved ones.
The youth have lost their schools.
The elderly have lost their memories and hometowns.
The loss of critical infrastructure is tragic.
Our pain, our heartbreak is too immense to describe.
With every life lost under the physical rubble, the weight of the emotional rubble, that we are all under, has increased.
Yet, every life saved has offered us a ray of hope.
A baby born under the rubble fought to survive – and so it is incumbent on us to continue to fight for those clinging on to life.
And we will do everything in our power to alleviate the suffering of, and give hope and comfort to the survivors, the displaced, the orphaned and the most vulnerable.
Dear All,
I assumed my role here, as the Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the United Nations, 7 years ago.
During my time here we have faced many challenges, and have worked side by side, hand in hand to overcome them. And it gives me great sorrow to end my term here against the backdrop of such palpable pain and loss in my country.
Disasters lay bare the truth of how dependent we are on one another and how one helping hand can save the other.
Dear Friends,
As fellow human beings, we should never forget that there is more that binds us than divides us. And in an hour of need we show up for one another.
Following the devastating earthquakes, over 100 countries offered their support. Many of them did not even hesitate a second to rush for help.
It was moving to see 82 countries, sending their rescue teams, which amounted to more than 10 thousand people, whom worked side by side with the Turkish rescuers, trying everything in their power to save as many lives as possible, like it was their own.
They cried together, out of happiness, with every life they saved.
They cheered up whenever they reached to the hand of a survivor under the rubbles, witnessing a new miracle.
They did not lose hope, nor stopped for a second, even after a week has passed, contributed to further miracles.
The babies they have pulled from under the rubble will forever remember them.
Friends, we will never forget the solidarity you offered during these dark days.
Thanks to this spirit of unity, we were able to save,
Gürkan: a high school student, who was sad about all the textbooks he had lost under the rubbles, will now be able to go to university.
Emine: a 26 year-old teacher, who spent 201 hours under the rubble, will continue teaching.
Fatma: a 77-year old woman, who spent 212 hours under the rubble, will be able to see her daughter once again.
And, a mother and her two children who were saved today after spending 228 hours under the rubble with no food or water, are blessed to live all together as a family.
And many many more…
Dear Friends,
We will also not forget the tremendous work UN, its agencies, other international organizations and many NGOs have undertaken to save lives.
Along with international help, I am also indebted to all the colleagues from our diplomatic and consular missions in New York, who have worked tirelessly under the leadership of Consul General Reyhan Özgür, and to the Turkish-American community, who donated generously and worked with us to collect and deliver all the in-kind donations.
We are deeply grateful to you all.
Dear Friends,
This last week has reminded us once again of the difference we can make when we come together.
There are people suffering in all corners of the world on account of conflicts, natural disasters, and climate change.
We must join hands to help them, to show them the world has not forgotten, that they will not be abandoned and that there is yet reason to hope.
Dear Friends,
On a personal note, today marks the end of my 41 year long career in the Foreign Service. I have spent one fourth, to be exact, 11 years of it, here in NY representing my Country in our global family that is the United Nations.
I am deeply saddened to end my term here after such a painful disaster for my people and for my country.
But I leave here humbled by the solidarity and outpouring of support from countless countries and communities, our fellow citizens and Turkish diaspora.
Dear Colleagues,
I thank you for these past seven years. I thank you for the memories of partnership for a common cause to make the world a better place for all of us. And I thank you simply for your friendship that I will never forget.
H. E. Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu
H. E. Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu, Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the United Nations