The World Mobilizes Humanitarian Relief for Türkiye, Syria
El Salvador sends a rescue team to Turkey, to assist with rescue missions following the earthquake. Image Credit- President Nayib Bukele, Twitter.
Earthquakes Humanitarian Relief Syria Turkey

The World Mobilizes Humanitarian Relief for Türkiye, Syria

Soledad Quartucci

The World Mobilizes Humanitarian Relief for Türkiye, Syria.

Having experienced two of the heaviest earthquakes in its history, Turkey is racing against time. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmara on Monday, February 6 at 04:17, caught it asleep. Those who entered their homes to get their belongings during the daytime were shaken by a second earthquake.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake caused the pain to multiply. The number of destroyed buildings increased, the number of citizens under the rubble multiplied.

“As we enter the fifth day of the ‘disaster of the century,’ the balance sheet is getting heavier with each passing hour, and on the other hand, the hopeful wait continues for those who are under the rubble,” reported Turkiye Gazetesi.

Search and rescue efforts continue on the fifth day of the 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes that occurred in Kahramanmara. The loss of life rose to 18 thousand 342. The number of injured reached 74 thousand 242 as reported by Turkiye Gazeti.

“We have determined that 12 thousand 141 buildings and 66 thousand 58 independent units throughout Turkey are either destroyed or severely damaged,” Minister Kurum said.

The World is Mobilizing, Sending Rescue Teams

While Turkey continues its work, many countries, institutions and organizations from around the world have sent aid to Turkey to support search and rescue efforts. 

The Embassy of Spain in Turkey praised the Turkish solidarity for their welcoming spirit.

“Legendary Turkish hospitality, with all their heart.” The embassy forwarded a tweet by the Bomberos GIRECAN, firefighter team:

“They have literally stopped us on the road to deliver these foods… They won’t let us pay for breakfast or a sweet… all the people are supporting the emergency teams. Do not forget, the protagonists are them. We are only hope. #Turkey”

 

 

In the Antakya district of Hatay, where the greatest damage was experienced during two major earthquakes in Kahramanmara, “there were no solid buildings left in a neighborhood with a population of 18 thousand. The 30-year-old mosque built by philanthropists in the neighborhood was also destroyed,” reports Hurriyet.

An ‘earthquake cemetery ‘ was created in the Antakya district of Hatay, one of the provinces severely damaged by the earthquake. The area determined by the coordination of AFAD is excavated by diggers and the numbered graves are buried with prayers.

Funeral delivery, funeral washing and masjid areas were created in the area organized by construction equipment. The bodies, whose autopsy process is completed in the hospital, are brought to the ‘earthquake cemetery’ area by transport vehicles and buried.

Gravestones are given numbers instead of names in order to make the funerals process faster and to prevent confusion. The bodies are delivered to those who want to bury them in different cities.

 

 

This Thursday the state of emergency entered into force in the 10 provinces most affected by the earthquake. The measure will remain in force for three months. The first convoy with humanitarian aid from United Nations arrived Thursday in Syria after crossing the border with Turkey. The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has asked that there be no “political obstacles” to help reach the country.

U.S. Assistance to Emergency Earthquake Response Efforts in Türkiye and Syria

The February 6th earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria have devastated millions, said Antony Blinken in a press release.

“Within hours of the first quake, the United States, at the direction of President Biden, quickly mobilized federal agencies and partners to urgently provide life-saving assistance in close coordination with our Turkish Allies and partner organizations in Syria,” reported the U.S. Department of State.

Since Monday, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate teams in coordination with hundreds of additional U.S. personnel have arrived in the region to help save lives and assist those in need.

“Today we announced $85 million in urgent humanitarian assistance to support these efforts.  USAID’s Disaster Assistance and Response Team is already hard at work in southern Türkiye.  Two of our most highly trained Urban Search and Rescue Teams are conducting operations in support of Turkish rescue efforts in Adiyaman, one of the hardest hit areas.  These teams have specialized equipment and canines for search and rescue operations.  Joining them are emergency managers, hazardous materials technicians, engineers, logisticians, paramedics, and planners,” reported Blinken.

The U.S. Department of Stated reported that existing humanitarian partners in both Türkiye and Syria are providing critical emergency relief, including food, water, shelter, medical care, and support staff for search and rescue efforts.  U.S. helicopters are conducting airlift operations, transporting rescue personnel to sites where they are needed most.

“We are grateful to the Government of Türkiye for re-opening the border so aid can flow into northwest Syria, and we welcome news today of the first UN aid convoy arriving via the Bab al-Hawa crossing.  We call on the Assad regime to immediately allow aid in through all border crossings; allow the distribution of aid to all affected areas; and to let humanitarians access all people in Syria who are in need, without exception,” stated Blinken.

In both Türkiye and Syria, “the United States will remain committed to doing whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to provide necessary assistance to those impacted by these earthquakes.”

Blinken asserted that the United States will continue to support the people of Türkiye and Syria, and “welcome and encourage support from our international partners in this time of great need.”

 

 

United Nations

TÜRKIYE/SYRIA Humanitarian Relief

For its part, the United Nations reported that the first convoy since the earthquake crossed from Türkiye into north-west Syria through Bab el Hawa crossing. That was a convoy made up mostly from the International Organization for Migration, said the U.N.

The cross-border assistance carried blankets, mattresses, tents, and shelter material as well as basic relief items and solar lamps and is set to cover the needs of at least 5,000 people, with support from our local partners.

The United Nations is helping in mobilizing emergency teams and relief operations in Türkiye. Over 100 Urban Search and Rescue Teams are working in the earthquake impacted areas of the country.

At the Government’s request two UN Disaster and Assessment Coordination Teams with a total of 50 members have been deployed to Gaziantep and to four hubs in the affected area to support the coordination of the team’s operations.

The United Nations humanitarian teams underscore that in Syria, including the north-west, urgent funding is needed to provide shelter, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene, education, protection and psychosocial support services.

TÜRKIYE/SYRIA Earthquake Relief 

Early next week, the UN will launch a Flash Appeal for donor support for those affected by the quake. He said the UN is ready to support the Turkish government’s response in any way we can. The appeal will be focused on Syria.

The Secretary-General appealed to the international community to show the people of Türkiye and Syria the same kind of support and generosity with which they received, protected and assisted millions of refugees and displaced people in an enormous show of solidarity over the years.

The UN also referenced a statement out of Geneva made by Geir Pederson, the Special Envoy for Syria. He said that emergency response must not be politicized, instead, the focus must be on what is needed urgently to help men, women and children whose lives are devastated by one of the most catastrophic earthquakes the region has ever seen.

 

Minister of Local Administration and Environment – Chairman of the Higher Committee for Relief, Hussein Makhlouf holds press conference on the impact of recent earthquakes on Syria. Image Credit: Alwatan.

 

Syria

The Minister of Local Administration and Environment – Chairman of the Higher Committee for Relief, Hussein Makhlouf, stated that Syria is not prepared for such disasters, “especially after 12 years of fighting terrorism and what it left behind in terms of targeting the infrastructure and state capabilities and causing the loss of engineering machinery and equipment of about 50,000 vehicles,” said Makhlouf.

The Syrian Minister expressed his thanks to the countries who took the initiative to provide aid, including medical and food items to those affected by the devastating earthquake, adding:

 

 

“We welcome any initiative and receive every initiative to provide aid without politicizing or violating the sovereignty of the Syrian state,”

Chairman of the Higher Committee for Relief, Hussein Makhlouf

 

During a press conference held by Makhlouf in the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment yesterday, he confirmed that the number of earthquake victims so far has reached 1,262, including women and children, while the number of wounded people rescued from under the rubble has reached 2,285, pointing out that these numbers are in a state of development with the progress of rescue operations.

Makhlouf indicated that 180 shelters have been opened, revealing that the number of people who left their homes for fear and panic of cracking homes due to the earthquake reached 293,829 people, including children and women, stressing that not all of them resort to shelter centers, given that there are many of them who go to their relatives, especially in the countryside.

And Makhlouf indicated that “all efforts are focused on providing everything necessary for our people, whether from the Syrian Red Crescent, the Syrian Trust for Development, and the Higher Committee for Relief, pointing out that more than 157 vehicles from other governorates have been dispatched to serve the affected governorates.”

He added, “I can say that what has been achieved, in comparison with the capabilities and the extent of the damage caused to our country due to terrorism and the unilateral coercive measures, indicates and predicts an integrated state with all its components coherent, and the integration of the roles of ministries and central and local authorities with civil society, organizations, unions, and economic and social actors, which enabled the concerned authorities to deal with this event and direct all energies towards the goal.”

Makhlouf said: “It is known that our country is not prepared for such disasters, especially after 12 years of fighting terrorism and what it left behind in terms of targeting the infrastructure and capabilities of the state, which caused the loss of engineering machinery and equipment of about 50,000 vehicles. The share of the Ministry of Local Administration was more than 5,000 vehicles, and this has negatively affected the possibility of dealing with such cases.”

He added: “We do not deny the difficulty of the situation within the available capabilities, just as the weather negatively affected rescue and relief operations, and all this did not discourage the rescue teams and the cadres of doctors and paramedics, as they are on alert around the clock.”

He continued, saying: “This was also accompanied by unilateral coercive measures from the countries supporting terrorism, in which the Syrian state clashed in compensation for the mechanisms it lost, indicating that these coercive measures targeted medicine and the livelihood of the Syrian citizen, let alone the necessary mechanisms and equipment.”

Makhlouf said: “Three hours after the earthquake occurred, the emergency meeting was chaired by President Bashar al-Assad, which resulted in the development of an integrated plan and unparalleled organization of work, explaining that the title of the plan is to focus first on removing the rubble and saving the lives that can be saved, noting the rescue of a large number of those trapped under the rubble.”

He added: “The second priority is to provide full health care to those rescued in hospitals, and this was done with the distinguished efforts of our medical cadres, as is the case of our cadres that carried out rescue operations, including civil defense, firefighting and all state institutions, and he explained that the third priority is securing shelter centers for those who left their homes because of the earthquake and this is what happened, in addition to providing them with aid and all the first-aid supplies and raw materials such as blankets, mattresses, and food and health baskets.”

He pointed out that the fourth priority is to assess the damages and buildings and verify their structural integrity so that their residents can return safely to them. Work will also be done to assess the buildings and develop a plan to evacuate the ramshackle buildings that need to be demolished and to strengthen the houses that need to be strengthened, as the matter is organized at all stages.

He referred to the efforts made to restore the damaged infrastructure by the concerned authorities, such as water networks, electricity, communications and all service facilities, which coincided with the mobilization of all relevant ministries to provide foodstuffs in all its forms, while pumping excessive amounts of fuel to the stricken governorates.

Makhlouf said: “We must thank the friendly countries that took the initiative to express their solidarity with Syria,  a large part of the leaders of the Arab world are in direct communication with the Syrian leadership, and this is a credit to our leadership, and this gave us great momentum. What we are witnessing in our airports of planes loaded with medical and relief materials is a translation of these contacts and the great solidarity of brotherly and friendly countries.”

Makhlouf explained,  “We have received aid from the countries of Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan and Libya, as well as from the countries of Iran, Russia, India, Pakistan and Armenia, and this indicates the credit of our leadership. The countries of the Sultanate of Oman, Cuba, Venezuela and Belarus informed us of sending aid planes to Syria.”

In response to journalists’ questions

During his response to the journalists’ questions, Makhlouf expressed his thanks to all the countries that provided aid to Syria.

Makhlouf added: “We announced a list of needs that was submitted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, indicating that the mechanisms were secured to remove the rubble and save lives, but the capabilities were not available to secure the specific mechanisms, and this is caused by the unjust economic blockade on Syria, and therefore the specific mechanism is not available.”

Makhlouf stressed that “the allegations of the United States of America that its sanctions against Syria do not include medicine and foodstuffs is a fabrication and exposes this measure by it and all the countries that participate with it in applying the sanctions on Syria,” explaining that “these sanctions prevented the Syrian people from obtaining the capabilities that help them in such circumstances as well. It has deprived them of medicine, food and energy.”

Makhlouf added: “Therefore, all that we suffer in our country is due to either terrorism or sanctions by the countries that support terrorism, but the Syrian state is stronger with its army, people and wise leadership. The sanctions on Syria must certainly be lifted. What happened in Syria indicates the horror of Western thinking that pays lip service to freedoms and human rights, and yet is far from them.”

Latin American Solidarity

Mexico Sends Relief 

 

Mexico Lindo y Querido

 

 

El Salvador Solidario

 

 

Argentina Presente, Cascos Blancos on their way to Turkey

 

 

Argentina sends aid to Turkey

Last night the Argentine government sent a brigade of 28 troops with equipment for search and rescue of people to Turkey, in a humanitarian aid mission coordinated by the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Security and the Argentine Agency for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance-White Helmets (Aciah), according to what the Télam Agency confirmed. The team will be made up of 28 “highly qualified” personnel in technical and canine search, medical assistance, hazardous materials and structural engineering, among other tasks.

The Pope calls for Solidarity

The Pope has called for “solidarity” with Syria and Turkey.

 

 

“It is time for compassion, it is time for solidarity. Enough of the hatred, enough of the divisions that lead to the self-destruction of humanity,” said the Pope.

“In pain, let us unite, let us help those who suffer in #Turkey and #Syria, let us build peace and brotherhood in the world,” the Pope said.

In an article titled, “They Did not Leave Turkey Alone,” Fotomac, a Turkey local press outlined countries and organizations from around the world that have sent help. 

 

Dr. Soledad Quartucci | Founder

Latina Republic is a reporting, research, and advocacy nonprofit organization advancing human rights in the Americas. Latina Republic fills the void in coverage of urgent social, political, environmental, economic and gender inequities affecting the Americas. Latina Republic’s mission is to inspire humane policies that fortify relations between the U.S. and Latin America. Our work is guided by peaceful international relations focused on solidarity. We believe asylum and seeking refuge is a human right. Our work envisions a world where neighboring countries are seen as partners, and immigrants and refugees don’t have to live in the shadows. Our goal is to advance peaceful dialogue by highlighting local perspectives that don’t make it into the mainstream news. Our vision is that this knowledge will assist all stakeholders in solving regional problems while strengthening ties.

 

Similar Posts