Turkish chippy boss calls on Ayrshire communities to help his village destroyed in earthquakes

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Turkish-born Ayr chippy boss is calling on communities across Ayrshire to help his hometown village which has been destroyed in the earthquakes disaster.Two huge earthquakes hit Turkey, Syria and the surrounding region on February 6, with the death toll reaching 40,000 and climbing.Widespread destruction has seen cities, towns and villages destroyed, leaving thousands in dire need of shelter, food and warmth.

Ayr’s Lucky Star chip shop owner Ali Cobanoglu is appealing to Ayrshire churches, businesses and residents to rally round to send funds to help his tiny village of Bozlar, where 13 have sadly lost their lives.

The remaining villagers - who have been faced with temperatures of minus nine degrees - are currently living together in one room in their local school as their houses have been reduced to rubble - including the home Ali was born in and where his step-brother Mehmet lives.Mehmet managed to get to safety just seconds before watching his house collapse.Ali said: “My step-brother says he had just grabbed his wife and got outside before the house collapsed.“It was 4.16am, everybody was sleeping.“The worst thing was for three or four days we couldn’t get in touch with anybody because electricity was cut off.“I’ve got a brother in the capital Ankara who was trying to get the Bozlar and got there three days later because all the roads were cracked.”Ali, who visits Turkey and his home village every year, is desperate to help in any way he can.He has already given his summer house in Mersin, on the south coast of Turkey, to a family in need.“This is a really sad situation just now," he said.“I’ve not seen anything like this before, especially in my area where I grew up and visit every year.“I bought a house in Mersin