Condolences to Turkey

To the families and the loved ones of miners killed in the Soma mining disaster; to our brothers and our sisters in Turkey, I offer my solemn condolences. As you mourn the dead, take solace that those departed did not die in vain, and in death, they mandate re-certification of safety rules and of procedures in the dangerous industry of underground mining. I pray God grant you the strength to ensure all measures be taken to avert a recurrence of  such an all too often disaster on Turkish soil.