The recent tragic earthquake in Turkey and Syria has left the Turkish government with a reason to detain, question, and arrest many building contractors. The devastating earthquake has claimed the lives of more than 33,000 people as of February 12. Numerous nations have volunteered recovery teams in the hopes of finding as many people alive as possible. A week after the earthquake, the living are still being freed from the rubble along with the many dead.
The Turkish government has begun to focus on the building contractors whom many deem responsible for the collapse of buildings in the earthquake-prone region. Guidelines and inspections are in place to help prevent the types of collapse seen with this earthquake. A handful of contractors have been detained or officially arrested while the government investigates 130 others involved in the construction. The contractors claim that their work met the standards and that the government is simply looking for a scapegoat to answer to the citizens who have lost family and friends.
Turkey, an Islamic nation, is in desperate need of strong Christians to share the Gospel without fear. With Islam being the largest religion, it is not particularly friendly towards Christianity. 52% of the population is completely unreached with the Gospel and the estimated evangelical Christian population is 0%. Please be in prayer for the people of Turkey as recovery efforts continue; please also pray that Christians will answer the call to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this hurting nation.
