Post-earthquake balance: “After distributing relief aid during the day, they spend the night in their car.”
March 08 2023
5 minutes
Willem Staes 11.11.11-Middle East expert is together with project coordinator Shaymaa Mostafaa in the earthquake area in southern Turkey to support local organizations on the spot. Despite the busy, emotional days, he finds some time and internet access to give us an update.
What are you doing there?
“Together with my colleague Shaymaa, I am in the earthquake area in southern Turkey for a week. First of all, to encourage our local partner organizations and provide practical support in their work. Olive Branch (OB), Basmeh & Zeitooneh (B&Z) and Women Now immediately set up all kinds of emergency aid and rescue operations in the first days after the earthquake, but are struggling with a lack of manpower because many of their employees also fled the earthquake area.
In addition to the flexible financial assistance we provide from 11.11.11 released, we also want to support our partners practically this week. We help distribute emergency aid in cities such as Gaziantep, Urfa, Reyhanli, Antakya, Kahramanmaras and Islahiye. At the same time, we can consult with all partners on how we are going to tackle this crisis in the coming weeks and months.
We are also trying to take the opportunity to talk to dozens of Syrians and Turks and better map the specific impact of the earthquake.
Special attention is paid to the possible impact of the earthquake on social relations between Turks and Syrians. For example, we have already collected many alarming stories about Syrian refugees who were thrown out of their temporary shelters to make room for Turks, an increase in anti-Syrian discourse on social media, and discrimination in the distribution of aid.
But we have also already seen a positive impact, with Turkish citizens who are now being helped by Syrian organisations having a more positive image of those same Syrian refugees.”
Turkish citizens who are helped by Syrian organizations get a more positive image of those same Syrian refugees.
What stays with you?
“First of all, there is of course the devastating humanitarian impact of the earthquake, which you cannot ignore. This is really a disaster of biblical proportions, an Armageddon that has hit the region, both in Turkey and in Syria.
We arrived at an unofficial refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaziantep, which is not recognized and receives no help whatsoever, except from local organizations like Basmeh & Zeitooneh. Actually, 'camp' is not the right word to describe the place: it is a pile of tarpaulins and a few campfires. Children walking around barefoot in freezing temperatures, that is not something you can stand in your face. Entire cities have been reduced to rubble, everywhere you see improvised tent camps on the side of the road, in the fields, …”
What about the psychological impact?
"The psychological impact of the earthquakes is enormous and will continue to reverberate for a long time, even after the houses have been rebuilt. Literally everyone we speak to here is traumatized by the events. Of the people whose houses were not destroyed by the earthquake, many are still sleeping in their cars a month after the events, for fear of a new earthquake. Including several colleagues from Basmeh & Zeitooneh. After distributing emergency aid during the day, they spend the night in their own cars, can you imagine?!
You also notice that the buildings that are still standing are only occupied up to the second floor. Because if you are higher up, you don't have enough time to flee in the event of a new earthquake. That fear of a new earthquake is really deeply ingrained. At the same time, you notice that no one wants to look their trauma in the eye. "Carry on and keep busy" seems to be the motto: if you have nothing to do and take a breath, you have time to think about what happened. People prefer to avoid that. And let us not forget that Syrian refugees in Turkey have already fled a brutal war in the past twelve years, and have many scars on their souls.
In addition, when we speak to Syrian aid workers who work “cross-border” from southern Turkey into north-west Syria, you see and hear the enormous anger about how the United Nations, and the international community in general, has failed the people there. It took four full days for a UN aid convoy to cross the border. No support was provided to rescue people from the rubble in the Northwest. The response was commensurate: in several places UN flags were set on fire or hung upside down in protest.
So there is a huge crisis of legitimacy of the international community, which will not be easy to solve. A good first step would be to give sufficient attention and resources to the humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place in northwest Syria.”
A good first step would be to give sufficient attention and resources to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in northwestern Syria.
What can our country do?
“Since day one of the earthquake, 11.11.11 insist, both in front of and behind the scenes, on the federal government to release additional financial resources for the victims in Turkey and Syria. Primarily for urgent emergency aid, but also for the longer term: education, psychological help, the creation of child-friendly places, ...
But one month after the events, we are still largely waiting for extra budgets, in addition to the amount that was already promised at the end of last year for the humanitarian needs before the earthquake. When you walk around here and see the enormous dramas and needs, it is downright outrageous. Especially when you hear Prime Minister De Croo talking in the media about “reception in the region”. What kind of reception is the Prime Minister talking about exactly? There is clearly a huge gap between Brussels and the brutal reality on the ground.
On a positive note, Minister of Development Cooperation Gennez recently announced that she will advocate within the government for additional financial efforts. We urge all Vivaldi parties to immediately respond to this. The time for action and solidarity is now. Not next month, not next year, but now.”
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