"What are you looking at?" Comedian Kaya Yanar is not only well known for this dictum. He himself was born and raised in Germany, but many of his relatives live in Turkey. Several of them die in the earthquake in the south-east of the country and in Syria.
The devastating earthquake in Syria and Turkey has claimed tens of thousands of lives. The family of the Turkish-born comedian Kaya Yanar is also affected, as the 49-year-old has now made public in an emotional statement on Facebook. Accordingly, he and his relatives mourn the loss of eight family members, including three teenagers.
Yanar writes that part of his family is still in the devastated city of Antakya to take care of the deceased. His mother organized accommodation in Antalya for the other relatives. There they have a roof over their heads and food, but they are traumatized. The images of destruction, which the comedian impressively describes, are "absolute horror".
In the post, Yanar also reflects on how his life might have been had his father and mother stayed in Antakya. "Perhaps I would have been screaming for help under the rubble of my parents' hometown for the last few days," he says thoughtfully. He is more than ever grateful to his "parents for coming to Germany".
The comedian also expresses special thanks to all helping hands in Turkey, Syria and abroad. "Despite my broken heart, tears of gratitude are mixed with tears of sadness," writes Yanar, referring to the great solidarity. He himself wants to collect money with donation streams to support organizations like "Doctors Without Borders". "Thanks for your help," Yanar ends his message.
Two weeks ago, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck south-east Turkey and northern Syria. It is currently assumed that the disaster has claimed more than 47,000 lives.
Born in Frankfurt am Main, Kaya Yanar began his career as a comedian shortly after the turn of the millennium. For example, between 2001 and 2005 he presented the comedy show "What are you looking at?!" at Sat.1. Since last year he has been an integral part of the satirical weekly review "7 days, 7 heads" on RTL and RTL.
