A WREXHAM businessman who was caught up in an earthquake in Turkey has set up a fundraiser to help devastated victims in his homeland of Kurdistan.

Baris Cakmak was in Istanbul when the earthquake hit and was unable to travel back to his home city due to the impassable roads. 

Now, he is back in north Wales and has started to fundraise for victims of the earthquake in the Kurdish regions affected in Turkey and Syria.

He fears the death toll - currently at 33,000 - could rise to 60-70,000 eventually.

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Mr Cakmak, who runs a chain of barber shops in Wrexham, Coedpoeth, Chirk and Mold, said: "Thankfully my home city was not as badly affected as many in terms of deaths but buildings have been damaged and destroyed. Family and friends are living out in the open and it's bitterly cold. There are 20 million people without homes at the moment.

"Like all the Kurdish and Turkish community here in Wales, I want to do something to help so this Saturday we will be donating all the takings from haircuts in the shops I run to the earthquake appeal.

"Some clothes and other donations have already gone out but the quickest and most effective way to help survivors now is with money. There are villages in Turkey and Syria that still have not had any help and people have been left in the freezing cold with no shoes or coats. It's a desperate situation.

"We're also planning for the longer term - this appeal will run until we're able to go to the region and provide support for survivors, especially children who have lost their parents. These orphans often have no-one to care for them."

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Mr Cakmak explained that he was liaising with a local MP in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkish Kurdistan, to try to get access to parts of war-torn Syria over the border. 

He said: "Places like Afrim and Kobani have already had years of conflict with many people made homeless so this is a double blow. They are not getting any international aid due to the political situation so we're going to try to help there too."

All of Mr Cakmak's barbers shops have donation points for anyone wishing to support.