Introduction
Picture yourself cosily sleeping under warm blankets on a February night - nothing ever seems to threaten the tranquillity of your comfort and unappreciated happiness. Bounded by the unpredictability of your surroundings, you do not have a choice but to hope that the fragile peace, which is essentially the gatekeeper of any upcoming disasters promising to ruin the life of clueless people, will last as long as you breathe.
Consequences
At 4.17 AM, this hope died for the residents of Gaziantep, Türkiye, the region which later became the epicentre of recurring quakes between southeast Türkiye (Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis) and the Syrian border (Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, and Latakia). Across both countries, the number of losses counts up to 2600 people, with over 1600 victims reported in Tükiye. According to AFAD (TheDisaster and Emergency Presidency), the second earthquake took place in the Kahramnmaras province at 1.32 pm local time, the third earthquake occurred at 9.03 pm local time in the same zone. It also reports that more than 2800 buildings over the country have come to annihilation.
The current situation is not only disastrous due to the number of people who lost their lives, but also for the people waiting outside in cold streets as the weather conditions become harsher, those waiting for a call from their loved ones living in the affected regions, those sitting under the destroyed buildings waiting to be rescued…
The country’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan describes the situation as “the worst since 1933” that struck Erzincan, killing around 33000 people. He also declared a 7-day mourning period until the 12th of February and that their flag will be hoisted at half-mast in all local and international representatives.
International help
The EU rescue teams have been sent from over a dozen Member States, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Italy and so on. The EU’s Copernicus satellite system has also been activated to assist nearby countries with emergency mapping services. The World Health Organization has also been actively involved in the situation by activating medical help to the injured.
The British government stated that they have sent 76 specialists that would arrive by Monday morning on the territory of Turkey with a medical rescue team. They are also in contact with The United Nations to provide aid for Syria. They UAE said they would create a field hospital in Turkey and send rescue teams around the country. Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev offered to send a rescue team to save people buried under the rubble. The country is also sending another rescue team consisting of 370 people.
Foundations in charge:
- ”Save the Children” - a U.S-based nonprofit organization protecting children and their rights for education, health, and security. The teams are already in the region and supply children with warm blankets, provide access to food and shelter.
- United Nations World Food Programme USA (U.N WFP USA) - the teams are already on the ground in Türkiye and Syria, with the organization closely working with both countries for a while already.
How can you help?
Turkish citizens can make donations by typing “DEPREM” to 1866. (The SMS fee is 20 TL)
For International citizens, AFAD lists multiple bank branches where money can be transferred in the form of TL, USD, and EURO. It is also mentioned that the recipient name must be entered as “T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı” when making an EFT transaction.
AKUT (Search and Rescue Foundation) also collects money through bank accounts and credit card transactions available on their website. (donations available in USD, TL, and EURO)
For people currently residing in Türkiye and using either of the following operators - VODAFONE, TURKCELL, or AVEA - writing “AKUT” to 2930 shortcodes automatically donates 10 tl.
“Save the children.” NGO - 85 percent of donation goes for the mission (available for international citizens through payment in USD; both Syria and Türkiye are the target countries)
The United Nations World Food Programme has an emergency fund for Syrians. Please note that the following fund has been activated before the earthquake took place, yet donations made for UNWFP Syria Emergency go to those affected by the earthquake as well.
What do the locals think?
No matter how tragic the situation is, some realizations and occurrences only add up to the mourning. These occurrences might not seem like a big deal at first glance but after the insight, we received from the locals the importance of the whole matter just increased. The explanation we got from the Turkish side was far more detailed and explanatory than we got from the Syrian side.
The Turks kept emphasizing how the authorities and Search and Rescue Foundation (AFAD) were late to help. The help was lacking from many sides according to the data we received. The search groups for the survivors had taken longer than it should be both during the search and the formation of the groups. Time has been a crucial point for this natural disaster particularly due to the cold weather and snow. The relatives and close ones of the survivors have been concerned about hypothermia. They feared that their loved ones may lose their life not due to the earthquakes but also due to the negligence and tardy support from the government and AFAD. Unfortunately what they feared came true for most. Not only the search groups were dispatched late, but the lack of financial support caused many more casualties as the search group didn’t have the equipment they required to act faster such as excavators, shovels and pickaxes. The number of dispatched teams were also lacking as the volunteering people from other cities took some time to arrive in the area to assist. There were many cases where the help arrived too late to save the victims. It wasn’t a pleasant situation for their loved ones to not receive replies after a while. The Turkish government has received numerous complaints but one point only emphasized negligence to the public. It was the difference of help between the Turkish government and foreign countries and organizations. Not only that but the government officials have talked more about the economical consequences rather than the victims. It is a widely known fact that the current economy of Turkiye is fragile, however it wasn’t the best time to talk about it. It is especially crucial as the elections are nearing. Another point that angered the locals was the lack of punishments to the contractors. During the earthquake many brand new buildings which were ironically also advertised as “earthquake friendly” through some official tests have collapsed. This drew the attention to the officials as many were now fearing the reliability of these tests. This situation also points out the problem of corruption among the officials. As Turkiye is expected to face more earthquakes especially in the most crowded city, Istanbul the public is expecting harsher and bolder decisions to be made as soon as possible.
The knowledge from the Syrian side wasn’t as detailed but the main point made was how Idlib, one of the sites suffering the consequences of the earthquake, was already overcrowded because of the immigrants habitating in the area. This situation only caused the casualties to be more than the predicted number. But the situation awaiting in the future isn’t so bright either. Housing was already a significant problem for the locals, with many more buildings collapsing the situation has gotten worse and the people are confused on what to do. Due to the ongoing war inside the country the government hasn’t sent much help to the locals, which makes them more dependent on the international help to arrive.
Written by Gulchin Aliyeva & Zeynep Hasşerbetçi
09.02.2023