My brother is a national asset; government must help in finding him – Atsu’s twin appeals

Following contradictory news about the safety of Ghanaian footballer, Christian Atsu Twasam, in Turkey, his twin sister has asked the government of Ghana to get involved.

“I have tried reaching out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ghanaian High Commission in Turkey but to no avail. I know my brother is a national asset; he has done a lot for his country, government must get involved,” London-based Christiana Atsupie Twasam appealed.

Atsu who plays for Hatayspor in Turkey was among thousands of people left under rubble following Monday morning’s earthquake.

His agent, Murat Uzunmehmet, in an earlier interview with crimecheckghana.org, confirmed that the player’s apartment was affected by the quake.

Later, there was news that the player had been rescued after being trapped in rubbles for over 26hours, his team Hatayaspor, in an official statement confirmed he was “safe and sound”

However, neither his team, Hatayspor nor agent; Murat Uzunmehment has been able to tell where he is receiving treatment.

“I am in a confused state now; I don’t know whether my brother has been rescued or not,” she added.

Stressing the need for government of Ghana to get involved, Executive Director of Crime Check Foundation (CCF), Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng said health workers may be overwhelmed in situations like this to pay special attention to certain individuals.

“We are told most hospitals have collapsed, there is no oxygen and our brother’s name is not part of those rescued, we all know the work Atsu is doing with Crime Check and the many individuals he is taking care of. He is a national asset, so the government must get involved,” he added.

The vice president of the Ghanaian community in Turkey, Abu Saddiq, has confirmed to CCF, that a communiqué between the Ghana High Commission and the Turkish Foreign Ministry available to him, states that the player was alive and is receiving treatment

“Your national is alive, he is receiving treatment,” the communiqué read.

However, at the time of filing this report, the club’s doctor, Gurbey Kahveci is quoted to have said that “when we heard the news that he was taken to Dortyol Hospital, we especially went and looked but he was not there. At the moment, we accept that the sporting director, Savut Taner, and Christian Atsu were not found on unfortunately”

BACKGROUND

Atsu was in action for the club over the weekend in their victory over Kasimpasa in the Turkish top flight with the Ghanaian scoring the only goal.

The Monday, February 6,2023 earthquake claimed over 5000 lives while over 15,000 others sustained various degrees of injuries.

The powerful earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border. The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time {01:17GMT} at a depth of 17.9km {11miles} near the city of Gaziantep.

Hours later, a second quake which had a magnitude of 7.5, hit the Elbistan District of Kahramanmaras province.

Last September, the 31-year-old Black Star penned a one-year deal to join the Turkish side following a spell in Saudi Arabia.