Following the tragic 7.8 and 7.7 magnitude earthquakes that shook Turkey and Syria, the search teams have been going above and beyond to rescue the victims.
For days and days after the earthquake, the rescue teams have been trying to uncover men, women, and children that were buried under the rubble – and, they’ve been offering a helping hand to the animals, too.
Now, the earthquakes that affected these areas have caused unthinkable and unspeakable damage. Sadly, more than 44,000 people were confirmed dead around the areas of south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria after the first earthquake and the numerous aftershocks that occurred on 6 February.
For the people of Turkey and Syria, the earthquakes came as a surprise considering the fact that the countries haven’t experienced any considerable earthquakes for more than 200 years.
Following the earthquakes, the entire world united to gather search and rescue teams, uncover the victims from under the rubble, and provide the survivors with adequate shelter, food, water, and other supplies.
Members of the Mardin Fire Department were among the search and rescue teams who managed to rescue numerous survivors, even after weeks have passed from the moment the natural disaster occurred.
We were fortunate enough to receive stories and stories of people getting out alive from under the broken bricks, scree, and brash – from the teenager that was rescued 10 days after the earthquake and the sister that protected her brother by holding a concrete block with her bare hands to a newborn that was still tied to her mother with an umbilical cord when she was rescued.
Among the heartwarming (and heartbreaking) stories of people getting rescued from under the wrecks of their homes, there are a few stories of animals receiving the same unconditional, unreserved, and unbelievably humane treatment.
Ali Cakas, one of the members of the Mardin Fire Department, uncovered a cat that was trapped under a collapsed building in Turkey’s district Define.
(Credit: Twitter)
Now, the poor cat has been trapped under the rubble for 9 days before Ali managed to get to him and rescue him. Nobody expected him to survive, but he took everyone by surprise when he hopped on Ali’s shoulders, seemingly unscathed, to show his gratitude.
Rather than running away (which most cats that were rescued did), he wanted to show Ali how happy he was that he rescued him by rubbing his face on Ali’s cheeks and sniffing around Ali’s beard. After that, he remained cuddled up against Ali’s face.
He refused to leave even though the rest of the team was waiting on Ali to continue searching for the victims. Whether he was scared of getting left behind, whether he was drawn to Ali’s warmth and affection, he didn’t want to get off Ali’s shoulder and he didn’t want to stop showering Ali with sniffs, licks, and headbutts.
How do we know all that? Well, the advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko took to Twitter to share the heartwarming encounter with the rest of the world.
Anton posted a video of Ali sharing a moment with the furry friend after getting him out from under the rubble and wrote “A cat was saved from under the rubble in Turkey. It now refuses to leave its rescuer’s side.” Naturally, the video quickly went viral and amassed more than 12.4 million views.
After viewing the video, the world couldn’t get over the gratitude that the cat was showing toward Ali and the calm, collected demeanor that Ali was showing toward the cat. At the end of the day, the cat didn’t want to leave Ali and he continued following the Mardin Fire Department around.
Ali decided to adopt him and name him Enkaz (which roughly translates to Rubble).
(Credit: Twitter)
Anton took to Twitter once more and shared a photo of Enkaz snuggled up next to Ali, and wrote “I posted yesterday about a cat saved from the rubble in Turkey who refused to leave his rescuer’s side. The rescuer’s name is Ali Cakas and he adopted the cat, naming him Enkaz – “rubble” in Turkish. May they have a happy life together!”
Enkaz became a protégé, a mascot of the Mardin Fire Department, and continued showing gratitude toward Ali. As for the rest of the world, Enkaz became a sign of hope.
After all, the world couldn’t fathom the fact that Enkaz came out of the rubble unscathed after 9 days, and that the furry friend showed that much gratitude, devotion, and loyalty toward Ali and the Mardin Fire Department. Ali and Enkaz, we wish you a happy and healthy life together!
