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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Open Letter of Thanks to The Government and People Of Ukraine

14 September, 1999 - 00:00

In the early hours of August 17, 1999, a devastating earthquake hit the Marmara region in northwestern Turkey, taking a very heavy toll in human lives and causing widespread destruction.

Thousands were lost, thousands were wounded, and thousands were left homeless and in need.

As we started dealing with the tragic human consequences of this astounding calamity, we were gratified to see that our national mobilization was supported by a large-scale international relief effort including search and rescue teams, firefighters, doctors, and medical teams.

The people of Turkey are deeply grateful for your timely assistance and for your moral and material support in the aftermath of the earthquake disaster. Your generous and humane gesture in our most difficult and painful days will always be remembered.

Now we are faced with the immediate task of providing temporary shelter for thousands of our homeless citizens for the coming winter months. We are undertaking a major reconstruction effort to build new earthquake-resistant permanent homes for them. We are determined to heal the wound of the destruction caused by this catastrophe within the shortest possible time and fully restore and renovate the infrastructure in the disaster zone.

We trust that you will continue to stand by us.

We are profoundly grateful to you for your solidarity.

We shall not forget the helping hand you have extended to us in our hour of need.

Republic of Turkey

We take pride in publishing this letter of thanks received from the Turkish Embassy to Ukraine and express the profound hope that other countries will join with us in doing whatever can be done to ameliorate this profound tragedy in a friendly neighboring state. —Ed.

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