The members of the Retracing Connections programme express their deepest condolences to everyone who lost their loved ones in the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, as well as their firmest solidarity with everyone affected by these tragic events. While the rescue efforts continue and the care for the survivors only begins, we feel the responsibility to call upon the academic and international community to give support and show solidarity with all the victims.

The stories that we work on daily have been written, translated or transmitted in the regions that now lie under rubble. We honor this land’s past by keeping its present custodians in mind and by not neglecting their calls for help. We stand with them in mourning the departed and in providing a dignified life to the survivors. We commit to hearing, remembering and diffusing their stories, lest they be muted and forgotten.

We invite the affected friends and colleagues to reach out and ask for our help and support. 

We urge the international community to provide urgent help to those in need!  You can find some organizations to donate to here, here, or here.