Haluk Levent is a 54-year-old Turkish rock star. But the Turks don’t just love him for his music. In recent years he has emerged as a kind of one-man Red Cross. For example, he managed to plant 33,000 trees after forest fires and helped victims of an earthquake in 2020. Levent is also now using his fame again.
“Was ik nu maar een graafmachine, dan kon ik al deze brokstukken opruimen”, schreef Levent in de nacht van maandag op dinsdag om 4.00 uur op Twitter. Slapen ging niet, want “anderen wachten op hulp”.
Met zijn hulporganisatie Ahbap is hij in het aardbevingsgebied. Levent probeert samen met andere bekende sterren zoveel mogelijk geld en hulp in te zamelen voor de recente aardbeving in Turkije en Syrië.
Hij heeft in korte tijd al drieduizend containerhuizen geregeld, ervoor gezorgd dat mensen massaal geld doneren – inmiddels miljoenen euro’s – en tientallen slachtoffers onder het puin vandaan gehaald met gerichte posts op Twitter. De Turkse FIOD en het handelsplatform Binance hebben op zijn aandringen een transparante cryptowallet aangemaakt voor cryptogelddonaties.
Door zijn staat van dienst bij eerdere rampen weet de bekende rockster ook andere bekenden mee te trekken in campagnes. Bij bosbranden, noodrampen, protesten van de vakbond, onrechtvaardigheid – het maakt niet uit. Levent is er telkens hoogstpersoonlijk bij om zijn steentje bij te dragen.
Vooral op Twitter is Levent een waar fenomeen onder de Turken. Hij wordt overal getagd met een hulpvraag. Zijn bereik werd zo groot, dat hij in 2017 zijn hulpstichting Ahbap oprichtte. Levent coördineert zijn hulpacties samen met lokale overheden en de nooddienst AFAD. Nu met de aardbeving is hij alweer een eenmans-Rode Kruis.
People tag Levent from under the rubble
Levent shared on Twitter that he was on his way to the earthquake zone with 650 volunteers. One woman responded with a photo of herself under the rubble: “Save me.” After this, many more people tweeted out from under the rubble.
Still others share the location of their relatives under the rubble. “Come here to help.” Desperately people tag Ahbap, Levent and the official disaster service AFAD.
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Own nephew died in earthquake
Levent shared on Tuesday morning how many tweets were sent from under the rubble: a total of 35,171. Dozens of victims were said to have been rescued after the messages from Ahbap accounts.
Levent’s own nephew Berke Dönbak was also buried under a building. Levent announced on Twitter on Tuesday that his nephew died from the earthquake. Berke’s mother was saved.
People wish Levent strength with the loss and thank him on Twitter when someone is saved. “The father of my colleague in Elbistan has been rescued from under the rubble thanks to instructions from Ahbap,” can be read in the tweet below.
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100 miljoen dollars van TikTok Turkey
Throughout the day – as with previous disasters – the rock star managed to collect donations from stars and well-known companies. Ahbap received 100 million dollars from TikTok Türkiye. Donations from well-known actors and football players, such as Fortuna Sittard striker Burak Yilmaz, also pour in.
Levent is in the Turkish city of Hatay on Tuesday and speaks with governors of the affected areas. He announced this on Monday with an urgent appeal to entrepreneurs to supply container houses. Today he tweets that it has been arranged: three thousand container houses for nothing.
With Levent’s campaigns and online messages, those in need get attention and volunteers can go to locations where they are needed quickly. It is still a race against time in the area. The first hours after an earthquake are important.
‘Worst disaster I’ve seen’
Levent always reported to the front line during the greatest disasters. During the forest fires in the summer, he tried with all his might to help extinguish them and assist victims. He experienced earthquakes up close. In 2020, Levent was in the Turkish city of Elazig after a magnitude 6.8 quake. He also helped in 2011 in the city of Van after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.
According to Levent, the latest earthquakes are of a different order. “I’ve seen so many disasters, but I’ve never experienced a disaster like this. Everyone calls. Everyone has a family member and brother under the rubble.”
“Ask me about this day in the future. I have never seen such a day in my life. Even if I forget to write it, remind me that I am going to publish this as a book.”
Levent is also often critical of the government. He coordinates his relief efforts with local authorities and the AFAD emergency service, but is also agitated. The government is failing in the construction sector, and there are too many non-specialists present. He writes about corrupt contractors using unsafe materials in construction: “One day you will be prosecuted.”
Inspiration for others
As a well-known person who uses his reach in times of need, Levent also inspires others. Ahmet Sonuc, a Turkish YouTuber known as Jahrein, also called for donations to Ahbap. Darren Watkins Jr. – as Ishowspeed one of the most viewed YouTube streamers in the world – saw that call and raised money for Ahbap and the emergency service AFAD.
Oguzhan Ugur was also inspired by Levent. Ugur is a musician himself and has a well-watched talk show in Turkey. Like Levent, he now uses Twitter as a one-man emergency service. He flies after Levent on Tuesday with volunteers.
Social media outreach is Levent’s backhoe around this earthquake.
