Revisiting Love in the Midst of Despair - The 2023 Turkey Earthquake
In the days following the catastrophic earthquakes that struck Turkey in February 2023, the world watched scenes of devastation unfold, entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble, lives changed forever, grief everywhere you looked. Yet even in the midst of such loss, moments of extraordinary kindness still found a way through.
One of those moments came quietly, without fanfare, during a routine search and rescue operation.
While working among the collapsed buildings, Turkish firefighter Ali Çakas heard a faint sound coming from beneath the debris. When he reached into the wreckage, he found a small, frightened cat alive against all odds.
What happened next was not something anyone could have planned.
The kitten climbed onto his shoulder and refused to move.
Dust-covered and exhausted, the firefighter continued his work with the tiny survivor perched beside his neck, clinging gently but firmly. Photos and videos of that moment spread quickly, resonating with people around the world. In a disaster defined by destruction, this simple act of trust became a powerful symbol of hope.
The kitten was later named Enkaz the Turkish word for rubble a name that marked not only where she was found, but what she had overcome.
More Than a Rescue
As rescue operations continued, Enkaz stayed close. She followed her rescuer wherever she could, curling into his jacket, riding on his shoulder, offering quiet companionship in a place where silence often meant loss.
When no guardian came forward and it became clear the cat had been left alone by the disaster, Ali made a decision that felt less like a choice and more like an inevitability.
He adopted her.
In interviews, he later explained that after everything they had endured together, he could not imagine leaving her behind. From the chaos of collapsed buildings to the safety of a permanent home, their journey together became a reminder that rescue doesn’t always end at survival sometimes it becomes family.
Why Stories Like This Matter
At Dog Desk Animal Action, we often speak about animals as victims of circumstance of neglect, legislation, cruelty, or disaster. But stories like this remind us of something equally important: animals are also partners in resilience.
Enkaz wasn’t just saved. She chose to trust. In the middle of noise, fear, and uncertainty, she found safety not in walls or structures, but in a human heart.
This story matters because it shows that compassion does not pause during emergencies. That animals are not “afterthoughts” in disasters. And that sometimes, the smallest lives offer the greatest comfort.
A Song Inspired by Love
This extraordinary bond inspired an original song “You Chose a Heart” written as a reflection on what it means to find connection when everything else has been stripped away.
The song is not about tragedy. It’s about what comes after. About choosing love over fear. About hope arriving quietly, and staying.
🎶 Listen below (The audio track below is an original composition inspired by real events. Images above are used editorially and are not associated with the audio recording)
From Disaster to Devotion
In a world that can feel heavy with bad news, Enkaz and Ali’s story is a gentle reminder that goodness still exists often without headlines, without intention, and without expecting anything in return.
From rubble to refuge. From rescue to belonging.
Sometimes love doesn’t arrive with certainty.
Sometimes it climbs onto your shoulder and stays.