KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, man is mourning the death of his grandfather, who was killed in a devastating earthquake in Turkey.
The earthquake has killed at least 11,000 people.
Eyyup Esen learned his grandfather was among the dead as he was starting his day Wednesday morning.
"The shocking part was to be able to locate his corpse among hundreds of other dead bodies," Esen said. "When I heard of that it was really devastating."
His dad was in Turkey and made the grisly discovery. Esen said the quake also killed six other relatives.
“They had the funeral of those six people today," Esen said. "Four of them are kids. Two of them are the moms. The husbands are alive.”
Surviving family members are living in a school building where they have access to food and water.
Esen said social media is the main way to communicate with relatives in Turkey.
Also in Turkey are childhood memories of Esen's grandparents.
“They had animals — especially horses, chickens and cows. I loved horses, so he was letting me get on a horse and horseback riding," Esen said. "They had beautiful big garden where there are rivers flowing by."
He continued, "So those are the first images and he always wanted us to drink milk and eat eggs and punch, so he was always sharing with us."
While the Turkish native tries to process his grief, he said he has learned one valubale lesson that can apply to everyone.
“Love everyone. Be kind to everyone, be patient and just think about what other people around us might be going through in their life," Esen said.
Embrace Relief, a nonprofit based in New Jersey, is one organization collecting donations for earthquake victims.
As valuable time passes by, Esen urges people to give what they can.
“We cannot really wait, because waiting means maybe loss of tens of hundreds of life," he said.
—
