‘Put humanity first': Peterborough comes together to hold vigil for earthquake victims

A vigil in honour of victims of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria took place on Cathedral Square in Peterborough city centre on Monday night (13 February).

As well as paying respect to the countless people who’ve died in the tragedy, the multi-faith gathering – which was Councillor Ansar Ali’s idea – gave Peterborians a chance to show solidarity with the city’s Turkish and Syrian residents.

Hosting the vigil from the the steps of the Guildhall, Councillor Ali spoke for many when he said:“Tears came to our eyes when we saw the devastation – the destruction – which the earthquakes caused in Syria and Turkey.”

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Central Turkey and North-West Syria on Monday February 6, killing more than 2,000 people and injuring thousands more.

A second major earthquake measuring 7.5 struck Central Turkey 12 hours later.

The death toll is expected to rise into the thousands as rescue workers continue to search for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Councillor Ali invited a host of individuals representing the city’s cultural diversity to come and speak to the large crowd. Among the speakers were members of the city council, representatives of the Sikh, Muslim, Christian and Hindu faiths and members of the general public.

Mayoress Dr Shabina Qayyum spoke of her pride in the city’s collective response:

“Peterborough is used to coming together at times of adversity,” she said. “We can be so proud of ourselves, irrespective of our backgrounds, as each and every one of us comes together as one.”

Community historian Del Singh took the opportunity to encourage those who he described as the “not our problem people” to try and see a bigger picture:

“Yes we have a cost of living crisis [here],” he acknowledged, “but over there they have a cost of staying alive crisis.”

Dr Clive Morton of Churches Together explained how Peterborough’s churches are contributing “in parallel with what the mosques are doing and what our Sikh brothers are doing.”

“Let’s do this together,” he added.

Councillor Ali closed the event by encouraging all those gathered “to put humanity first before everything else.”