Chairman Fuat Tosyali's Message Regarding the Earthquake Disaster That Affected 11 Provinces

We will heal our wounds, we will carry hope wherever our hands reach

The earthquake disaster that hit 11 of our provinces in the heart caused indescribable pain to our people in the region. It is really not possible for those who are not in the region to fully understand this. Nevertheless, we all know that fire has fallen on every household in our country and that everyone is hurting. There is this great pain in our words, when we look into each other's eyes, sometimes in our silences, in short, in every moment. The spirit of solidarity and cooperation that our nation has shown in such difficult times continues to be the greatest force that keeps us all alive through all these pains.

As Tosyalı Holding, we personally experienced this disaster in Iskenderun and Osmaniye, where our facilities are located. Fire fell on our homes, we lost our lives. Some of them were our colleagues, some of them were our business partners, some of them were our next-door neighbors. Believe me, it is not easy to explain this. It is also impossible to describe. However, we are trying to cope with this pain by running here to heal the wounds. We don't have the opportunity to look and evaluate from the outside because we are in the field from the first moment. We are running around to see if we can save one more life, if we can heal the wounds of one more life.

As the Board of Directors of Tosyalı Holding, together with more than 1,000 colleagues, we have been working in the field with great faith and hope since the first day. Our search and rescue team, our construction machinery, our food and supply distributors have worked with all their might to help the people affected by the earthquake. We mobilized our logistics facilities to distribute the aid from our extensive customer network to the earthquake victims. Our factory kitchens are working day and night, non-stop. We strive to provide hot meals for everyone. We have set up a special team for shelter needs. Our team meets the tent needs of the people of the region, especially the elderly and families with children, and personally sets up their tents in every corner of the region. In addition, we have so far opened space and set up tents for 120 families in our facilities alone, and we have made preparations to increase this number in line with the needs. In addition to human losses in our region, we also suffered losses to our cultural heritage. We have supported the Hatay Civilizations Choir, which was affected by this disaster, to get back on its feet. Our efforts in this area will continue.

We extended our helping hand not only to our own regions but also to all other provinces affected by the earthquake disaster. We mobilized our financial means and equipment in these regions as well.

In Tosyalı, we will never be complete, a part of us will always be missing

This is a great disaster and it will take time to heal our wounds. We have lost so many lives in the region, we have a huge number of injured. I am sometimes asked, "How are your factories doing, will they be able to continue production?" But believe me, we cannot say, "There is no problem, we have no shortage". Yes, our plants are able to continue production and there are no problems, but we have many shortcomings. Adalet Bozkan, Anıl Sağır, Berk Digili, Berkhan Eminsoy, Bilal Kanat, Can Önalan, Furkan Berke Gökçe, Halil Ibrahim Aksoy, Hasan Temel, Kâmil Binboğa, Melis Kılıç, Mesut Savran, Musa Aslan, Onur Can Türk, Recep Doğan and Sergen Mudanya... They are no longer with us.

To an outsider, they may be names, but to us it is not. They are our life and blood, our friends, our brothers and sisters. At Tosyalı, we are like a family, so we will never be complete,  a part of us will always be missing. I always say it on different occasions; you can rebuild machines, you can rebuild facilities, but every human being is a value, you cannot bring them back. That's why for us, who have been kneaded with this feeling under the roof of Tosyalı, this pain is indescribable. Although they will no longer be with us, the cherished memory of all our friends who lost their lives will live in our hearts forever. They will always have a special place in the history of Tosyalı. I wish them mercy from Allah and condolences to their grieving families, relatives and our entire Tosyalı Family.

We mobilized for our 6 thousand employees, their families and relatives in the region

As Tosyalı, we have always been a family and we will continue to be so. Therefore, while we mourn our friends who lost their lives, we are also working to get back on our feet. We are currently mobilized for our 6 thousand employees, their families and relatives in the region. Immediately after the earthquake, we provided around 30 million TL in cash aid to our employees. In addition, we are working to find solutions to the housing issue in particular. Currently, more than 500 of our colleagues are staying with their families in our facilities. We will build a special shelter area on the land allocated near our facility in Osmaniye.

We have started to work on the construction of specially designed containers, different from normal prefabricated houses, with materials suitable for the climate of the region, in which the basic needs of a house can be met. After the earthquake, the main problem is the shelter problem that arises due to the low number of solid houses to live in. It is not easy to solve it in a short time. It is very important for people to stay here to keep the region alive and vibrant. The migration of our qualified people would be a new destruction for our region. Therefore, I believe that these specially designed living spaces that we have prepared for shelter will be important for the maintenance of life as normal as possible.

I would like to emphasize again that the priority is people, society and the environment, and we can solve the rest together, even if it is difficult. That is why we will continue to work hard for this in regions like Osmaniye and Iskenderun where we have facilities. We will hold tightly to each other as a big family to stand up strong again and run to better days. From our facilities to our cities, we will carry this hope wherever we can reach. We will do everything we can to show that where there are people, there will be solutions and that only by pursuing what is good for people, society and the environment can this world change.

I wish Allah's mercy to all our citizens who lost their lives, condolences and patience to their relatives, and a speedy recovery to those who were wounded.