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225 fires in 47 provinces in Turkey have been raging across the nation from July 28, 2021, up until today. The large-scale fires have destroyed over 55,000 hectares (135,000 acres) of land, resulting in the demolishment of people’s homes, land, forests, livestock, and agriculture.
Despite the mass evacuations that ensued due to the disaster, eight people, including two firefighters, have been killed.
Fortunately, rainfall over the weekend of August 7-8, 2021, has helped tremendously in extinguishing most of the forest fires; only a few remain burning as of August 9.
“Most of the information and news I’ve seen about it (the fires in Turkey) were from Instagram and YouTube since a lot of people are spreading awareness about it and there are short clips from the news,” said Sydney T., a junior at AISG.
Some social reports say that the start of the fires was through arson by a terrorist group, “Children of the Fire Initiative,” which is connected to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who has burned down forests in Turkey in the past as a form of ‘vengeance’ and rebellion towards the Turkish state. Their actions resulted in many civilian deaths and environmental destruction in the process.
Major forest fires have been occurring within nations around Turkey and across Europe this summer as well, including in Russia, Greece, and Italy. The smoke from these fires has become so intense that it has reached the North Pole.
As social media is a more convenient way for the high-schoolers at AISG to keep informed on what is happening around the world than magazine publications or news sites, taking the time to spread awareness and take a look at events happening around us is important for us an international community.
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