Syriac and Christian organizations and churches in Giessen are holding a fundraising for housing for the victims of the 2023 Hatay earthquake

GIESSEN, Germany — A coalition of Syriac and Christian organizations, churches, and civil groups has announced a fundraising event titled In Solidarity with the Christians of Turkey and Syria. The event will take place on Sunday, 11 May, at the hall of the Syriac Orthodox Church of St. Ephrem and St. Theodoros in Giessen, Germany.

This humanitarian collaboration includes the European Syriac Union, Syriac Union of Germany, the Association for the Reconstruction of the Christian East, Central Council of Oriental Christians in Germany (Zentralrat Orientalische Christen Deutschland, ZOCD), Greek Orthodox Church in Hatay, St. John the Baptist Church in Stuttgart, and St. George Greek (Rum) Orthodox Church in Berlin.

The fundraising aims to support Christian families who lost their homes during the devastating 2023 earthquakes that struck southeast Turkey and northern Syria, with a particular focus on the Hatay region.

According to the organizers, 80 Christian families in Samandag, Hatay, were left homeless by the disaster. For most families, some form of housing has been arranged, with 20 remaining. While prefabricated homes have been provided to 8 families through earlier donations, 12 families are still in dire need of safe housing. They currently reside in tents or temporary shelters.

All the proceeds of the Giessen fundraising event will go directly to those affected families in Hatay and Syria.