The earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday killed more than 20,000, according to latest reports that continue to increase, while a first aid convoy entered the rebel areas northwestern Syria on Thursday, the fourth day after the disaster. An AFP correspondent saw six trucks, notably loaded with material for tents and cleaning products, entering Syrian territory from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa border post.
According to Mazen Allouch, an official at the border post, this is aid that was expected before the earthquake of a magnitude of 7.8, followed by more than a hundred tremors which devastated Syria and the Turkey. “It will be followed, God willing, as we have been promised, by larger convoys to help our stricken people”he added.
Arnaud Gabriel, our RTL info journalist, is in Iskenderun in Turkey. It testifies : “There are survivors who stay in front of heaps of debris, concrete, very impressive heaps and who hope for a good surprise. It’s very touching but what is strong is to see how they (survivors) experience the disaster. They live it with an impressive fatality. They are angry with no one, they are not looking for anyone responsible. They are standing strong, yet they have lost everything.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement that this convoy, made up of six trucks carrying blankets, mattresses, tents, relief equipment and solar lamps should cover the needs of at least 5,000 people. On Wednesday, a UN official warned that the UN stockpile in northwestern Syria could barely feed 100,000 people for a week. The earthquake killed at least 20,451 people, according to the latest official reports, including 17,134 in Turkey and 3,317 in Syria. Twenty-three million people are “potentially exposed, including about five million vulnerable people“, estimates the World Health Organization (WHO). It fears a major health crisis which would cause even more damage than the earthquake.
Humanitarian organizations are particularly worried about the spread of the cholera epidemic, which has reappeared in Syria. In Tloul, a village in northwestern Syria, residents had to flee after an earthen dam collapsed under the tremors of the earthquake. “Our situation is dramatic. Look at the water around us,” said Louan Hussein Hamadé, one of the few residents to have remained in the stricken village, as well as the surrounding fields.
“Solidarity”
Gathered at a summit in Brussels, the leaders of the European Union – which is organizing a donor conference for Turkey and Syria in early March – observed a moment of silence for the victims of the earthquake. They sent a letter to Mr. Erdogan expressing their “solidarity” with the Turkish people and offering to increase their aid to Turkey.
The EU sent first aid to Turkey hours after the quake on Monday. But it initially offered only minimal aid to Syria through existing humanitarian programs, due to international sanctions in place since the civil war began in 2011.
On Wednesday, Damascus officially requested EU assistance and the Commission asked member states to respond favorably to this request. European Commissioner Janez Lenarcic, coordinator of European Union assistance, was in Gaziantep, in the south-east of Turkey, on Thursday, where he was to meet Turkish officials but also humanitarian organizations active in the north-west of Syria, the commission said. In the rebel areas, the earthquake complicates the arrival of aid, making it difficult to pass the access roads to Bab al-Hawa, the only crossing point currently guaranteed by the UN.
The UN special envoy, Geir Pedersen, called on Geneva “not to politicize” aid to this country, adding that he had raised the subject with representatives of the United States and the European Union. France announced that it was going to set up emergency aid for the Syrian population to the tune of 12 million euros. For its part, London announced Thursday additional financial aid of at least 3.4 million euros, i.e. a total amount of nearly 4.3 million euros allocated to the White Helmets, the rescuers operating in the rebel zone.
Two more passes
For its part, Turkey has announced that it is working to open two other border crossings with Syria to allow the delivery of aid. “For humanitarian reasons, we are also aiming to open border crossings with the regions under government control” in Damascus, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Thousands of homes are destroyed on both sides of the border and rescuers continue their efforts to search for survivors in the rubble, even though the crucial first 72-hour window for finding survivors has closed, the situation being further aggravated by freezing cold.
In Adiyaman, the earthquake trapped teenagers and their companions in their completely collapsed hotel, who had come from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC, recognized by Turkey alone) to play in a volleyball tournament. According to Nazim Cavusoglu, Cypriot-Turkish Minister of Education who came to the scene, a teacher and three parents were extracted alive on Wednesday evening. “Thirty-three people are still trapped”he told AFP.
“Of course there are gaps”
The cold makes living conditions hellish for the survivors. In the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, temperatures dropped early Thursday to -5°C. In the tent camps of northern Syria, on the other hand, the refugees were aware that they had been lucky in their misfortune. “The quake was terrifying, but residents thanked God for living in tents after seeing what happened around them.”consoled Fidaa Mohammad, a resident of the Deir Ballout camp.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visiting the disaster areas, sketched out a mea culpa on Wednesday in the face of mounting criticism: “Of course there are shortcomings, it is impossible to be prepared for such a disaster.Turkish officials have in recent weeks repeatedly issued warnings about the use of social media ahead of presidential and legislative elections on May 14, where Mr. Erdogan is seeking a new term after 20 years in power.