Disasters can only be overcome with solidarity, which is why Clown Me In will be working with Clowns Without Borders on the ground to alleviate the sufferings of people in Turkey, who have been affected by the earthquake that hit the country on Feb 6. Providing psychosocial support is crucial to enable people to process what has happened and deal with the trauma, the same way we successfully did after the explosion in Beirut. A little girl who had stopped talking, talked after one of our shows!
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit a swathe of southern Turkey and northeast Syria last Monday, the 6th of February, leaving 16,000 people killed and tens of thousands injured. Many others who survived were left homeless amidst the cold weather. We are devastated at the sight of women, men, children and elderly people dragging themselves on the streets in such devastating and freezing conditions. Everyone is still in a state of shock and the situation on the ground is heartbreaking and terrifying.
We (CMI and CWB) are working to provide psychosocial support to survivors through comedy and laughter, mainly to women and children affected by the earthquake in Turkey, since it is proven to have significant effects on people recovering from traumatic events. Such a form of relief enables people to understand what has happened and face the shock they have experienced and purges people's bodies from pent-up energies, especially children who are extremely vulnerable to disasters.
We hope to provide a glimpse of hope to those affected by the earthquake and to help them overcome it through psychosocial support and comic relief, using our tools and expertise and by deploying our experienced artists and clowns to the field to try and help people stand on their feet once again. People affected by trauma need laughter to overcome those extremely difficult times, and we all know the immediate and gratifying benefits of laughter which help us deal with such emotional shock.
