HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The devastation in Turkey and Syria after a series of earthquakes is wide-reaching and overwhelming. As help pours in, a Tampa Bay area woman is headed to the region to raise awareness and bring relief.
"It's millions and millions of people who've been impacted," said Hiba Rahim, the spokeswoman for Mercy Without Limits.
Rahim is off on a humanitarian mission to the devastated region of southeastern Turkey.
"I lived in Panama City in 2018 during Hurricane Michael, and I saw how an entire city can be wiped out in just a matter of hours by a storm. Now, imagine two major earthquakes that spread across a geographic mass the size of half of Texas," Rahim said.
ABC Action News met up with Rahim as she was packing her bag for her trip. She travels to the area Wednesday.
The earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syriakilled at least 50,000 people.
"It means a lot to me, particularly because my family is both Syrian and Turkish, and family that I have in both sides of the earthquake, on both sides of the border, were heavily impacted," said Rahim. "I'm very grateful that we didn't have any casualties, but there comes a point where you have to stop asking was any of my family impacted, and you have to understand our calling to help all those who were hurt."
Mercy Without Limits said it's been on the ground since the first day of the disaster helping with the immediate response to the humanitarian crisis. In addition, it has an emergency appeal for donations.
Rahim said she was going to help with relief and that she was mostly going to capture stories.
"A lot of people ask why would you leave the safety that you have and go over there to help. And the reason is because people forget. We forget that people are suffering," said Rahim. "We realize it when we're scrolling, and then life goes on, but it's really important that we keep the suffering fresh in the minds of people because we are a human race, and we have to help each other."
Her message to people, despite the distance, is to give and keep your heart open.
"We may not be direct neighbors, but we are brothers and sisters in faith, and I think that any person of faith or any person of good moral conscious understands that it's our responsibility to help one another, even if we're thousands of miles away," said Rahim.
