>> A NEW YORK CITY FAMILY VISITING RELATIVES IN TURKEY ARE AMONG
THE VICTIMS OF THIS DEADLY EARTHQUAKE.
BARACK FARIQ, HIS WIFE KIMBERLY AND TWO SONS, 2-YEAR-OLD HANS A,
1-YEAR-OLD BILAL WERE FOUND. THEY HAD BEEN STAYING NEAR THE
EPICENTER OF THE SECOND DEADLY EARTHQUAKE.
SO JOINING US NOW TO TELL US ABOUT HER SISTER,
BROTHER-IN-LAW, TWO NEPHEWS, KIMBERLY'S YOUNGER SISTER, SAMBA
SALAZAR. THANK YOU.
WE KNOW IT'S ROUGH. WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW?
>> FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THIS IS A
BIG PROBLEM RIGHT NOW IN TURKEY AND IN SYRIA, AND ALTHOUGH I
LOST MY FAMILY, THERE ARE CURRENTLY STILL PEOPLE UNDER
THERE. THERE ARE CHILDREN.
THE NUMBER OF THE DEATH TOLL, IT'S RISING, AND THE ONLY THING
I THINK THAT WE ASK IS HAVING THE HELP, THE AWARENESS THAT
THIS IS STILL HAPPENING, AND JUST GETTING AS MANY PEOPLE, ALL
HANDS, ALL HANDS ON DECK. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WHEN I FOUND
OUT THAT MY SISTER AND THE REST OF MY FAMILY WAS MISSING, THERE
WAS NO RESCUE TEAM. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE
BUILDING COLLAPSED AND IT WAS JUST THREE PEOPLE ON SITE AND
MANPOWER BEING USED JUST FOR ONE LOCATION BECAUSE AT THAT TIME
EVERYTHING WAS CHAOTIC. EVERYONE WAS A PRIORITY.
SO IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT. THIS IS REALLY DIFFICULT TO SEE
THIS. SO WE'RE ALL VERY BROKEN IN MY
FAMILY. AND ME AND MY SISTER, OUR HEARTS
ARE BROKEN. >> CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THEM?
>> SO MY SISTER WAS SIX YEARS OLDER THAN ME.
SHE WAS VERY GRACEFUL. SHE WAS VERY -- SHE AS VERY
LOVABLE. SHE WAS VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT
EVERYTHING THAT SHE DID AND SHE CERTAINLY PUT EVERYONE'S NEEDS
ABOVE HER OWN. AND MY BROTHER-IN-LAW WAS VERY,
VERY, VERY HELPFUL IN THE COMMUNITY.
HE WAS VERY SELFLESS. HE WAS EXTREMELY INTELLIGENT.
AND ALL HE WANTED TO DO WAS HELP.
HELP THE COMMUNITY. HE WAS VERY -- HE WAS DONATING
TO AFRICA. HE WAS DONATING -- HE WAS VERY
ACTIVE WITH NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
WE'RE REALLY BROKEN. >> DO YOU WANT TO TELL US ABOUT
YOUR NEPHEWS? >> MY NEPHEWS.
SORRY. >> IT'S OKAY.
WE SEE THEM. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL.
>> MY FIRST NEPHEW, HIS NAME IS HAMSA, HE IS 2 YEARS OLD.
AND MY LITTLE ONE WAS A YEAR OLD.
AND THERE ARE NO WORDS I CAN DESCRIBE HOW MY FAMILY IS
FEELING, HOW THEY WERE TAKEN AWAY SO SOON.
THEY WERE JUST CHILDREN. AND WE'RE MOURNING.
WE'RE MOURNING, YOU KNOW. WE WERE JUST -- WE HAD SO MUCH
HOPE. OUR HOPE WAS TO SEE HIM IN
PROGRAMS AND ENROLL HIM IN SCHOOL, AND NOW WE DON'T HAVE
THAT. WE'VE LOST ALL OUR HOPE.
WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. MY MOM AND DAD, THEY ARE VERY
BROKEN. IT'S LIKE STARTING OVER FROM
NOTHING. IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT.
>> HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? EVERYONE IS GOING TO HEAR YOUR
STORY AND BE SO TOUCHED BY IT. >> THIS IS A HUGE -- AGAIN, THIS
IS VERY CHAOTIC. THIS IS A HUGE LOSS THAT WE ARE
EXPERIENCING IN MY FAMILY. AND NOT ONLY IF MY FAMILY, THE
WHOLE COUNTRY IN TURKEY. MY SISTER AND THE KIDS, THEY
WERE U.S. AMERICAN CITIZENS. THEY WERE BORN HERE.
THEY WERE RAISED HERE. AND MY PARENTS AND ME, WE HAVE,
YOU KNOW, ACCEPT AND MADE A HUGE GREAT SACRIFICE IN UNDERSTANDING
AND COMING TO TERMS THAT ONCE WE FOUND OUT WE WERE READY TO GO ON
THE NEXT FLIGHT TO TURKEY, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT OPTION
BECAUSE THE ROADS WERE CRACKED. THERE WAS A RISK.
OUR LIVES WERE AT RISK IF WE WENT.
THEY WEREN'T LETTING PEOPLE INSIDE THE CITY WHERE THE
EPICENTER WAS OCCURRING. THEY WERE IN KAHRAMANMARAS, A
TOWN, A SMALL TOWN WHERE ONCE THE BUILDINGS COLLAPSED, 80 TO
95% OF THE TOWN WAS COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED.
IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT TO JUST GET A MACHINE IN TO HELP COLLECT
AND PICK UP THE CEMENT, BIG BLOCKS OF CEMENT, ROCKS.
YOU KNOW, SO JUST WE LOST FIVE FAMILY MEMBERS.
MY TWO NEPHEWS, MY BROTHER-IN-LAW, MY SISTER.
AND MY BROTHER-IN-LAW'S MOTHER AND HIS DAD.
SO MY BROTHER-IN-LAW'S FATHER WAS THE ONLY SURVIVOR.
>> AND HE JUST HAD OPEN-HEART SURGERY, YOU SAID?
>> HE HAD OPEN-HEART SURGERY. AND HE BASICALLY SAW HIS
BUILDING COLLAPSE BEFORE HIS OWN EYES AND HE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING
AND HE CALLED MY MOM AND HE SAID, MOM, HE SAID, BARAK,
MADELEINE, HAMSA, THEY ARE GONE. THEY LEFT.
AND SO HE SPENT OVER 12 HOURS DIGGING AND JUST FINDING PEOPLE
TO HELP HIM DIG BECAUSE THE MACHINES WEREN'T ABLE TO GO IN.
>> WELL, LISTEN, WE ARE -- THERE AREN'T WORDS.
AND WE KNOW THAT THIS IS TOUGH FOR YOU, AND THERE ARE MANY
FAMILIES HERE IN AMERICA WHO HAVE LOVED ONES THERE AND HAVE
LOST. AND SO WE ARE ALL THINKING ABOUT
YOU AND OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING IN.
WE KNOW THIS ISN'T EASY TO DO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR STRENGTH AND
YOUR COURAGE AND DIGNITY AND WE ARE SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.