The Turkish Earthquake: A Spotlight on Syria

Early on Monday morning, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit a region of Southeastern Turkey and Northern Syria around the city of Gaziantep, causing over 19,000 and 3,100 fatalities respectively so far in the two countries, according to The Wall Street Journal . The disaster resulted in numerous damaged or destroyed buildings and individuals trapped under the rubble.?

Syria's difficulties are more nationally nuanced than Turkey's, which prevents them from receiving international support. Foreign aid distribution is a complicated issue that takes into consideration various factors, such as the political and diplomatic ties between the nations involved. Thanks to my dear friend Bo-Yu Chen, Ph.D. for making me aware of the scant information on earthquakes in Syria. Bo-yu also recently made an independent trip to Syria in November 2022.?

Below are donation links in support of Syria:?

红十字会与红新月会国际联合会 : https://donation.ifrc.org/?campaign=d333c1a4-09a7-ed11-a2da-005056010028&fbclid=PAAaY_2zAjWwQphWTBbNAJ6sYDhPdx9_DIDsOPdtx8y4B2ehgQpOdfswbv3H4?

加拿大麦吉尔大学 Syrian Students' Association in Canada: https://www.instagram.com/ssamcgill/ (Bo-yu met the sister of the group’s organiser in Syria. She is responsible for organising volunteers in Lattakia and assisting with fundraising efforts in Canada with her sister.)

Disasters Emergency Committee : https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal (In this case, for every pound donated by the public, the UK Government matches up to ￡5 million.)

For all charitable donations, UK taxpayers can boost the value by ticking the "Gift Aid" box and then HM Treasury adds the equivalent income tax to it.

https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid

To date, international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC and United Nations member nations have received all requests for support from the Syrian government. The UN has dispatched teams to the affected region to assess the situation and provide aid. According to Middle East Eye , on Wednesday, 08/02, Damascus formally requested assistance from the European Union . Numerous countries have also pledged support, including United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Canada (hopefully, more nations will be on board).

The below discussion will outline the key challenges and the progress of efforts that have been made so far to fulfil the determination expressed by Ursula von der Leyen , the president of the European Commission , that "no one should be left alone when a tragedy like this hits a people."?

Absence of public facilities and restrictions of sanctions: Before the recent earthquake, many areas of Syria, including vital infrastructure such as hospitals, were already in ruins due to the conflict, with crumbling infrastructure, destroyed buildings, and frequent power outages. Syrian Arab Red Crescent (a Syria-based NGO) has called for an end to the economic sanctions and siege on Syria so that the country can effectively respond to the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Requirements of heavy equipment, ambulances, and firefighting vehicles are necessary to continue the rescue and removal operations.?

Economic and civil war-related challenges: The conflict in Syria has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths among civilians and fighters. The ongoing humanitarian crisis has been made worse by a severe economic downturn. It is already in dire need of aid due to the cholera outbreak, frigid weather, and collapsing infrastructure. Furthermore, the region is partitioned between the government, Kurdish-led troops, and other rebel factions. International assistance may take some time to reach the impacted areas. In particular, the situation in northwest Syria is highly challenging. Only one minor gate crossing on the Turkish border, Cilvegozu, is open and allows for the delivery of supplies to the areas under the control of opposition troops; however, it is facing difficulties due to road damage on the Syrian side. The fantastic news is that Turkey plans to open two more border crossings into Syria to aid earthquake relief efforts, according to Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt ?avu?o?lu .

I am grateful to my greatest inspiration, Dr. Mai Nguyen , for motivating me to travel for nine months to this region, which is surrounded by heated discussions but offers a unique opportunity to learn about geopolitics and the significant role played by participating middle powers in global political activity. Unfortunately, my dual nationality (British and Vietnamese) prevented me from being granted entry to Syria, so I extended my stay on my second visit to Lebanon for an additional two weeks. Towards the end of my career break in December 2022, I had the opportunity to visit the heavily impacted regions, including Gaziantep, ?anl?urfa, and Diyarbak?r, for three weeks to meet my new friends ( Sümeyye Ye?il , Busra Kirit , Mekiye Gülel) working for the Turkish Red Crescent ( Türk K?z?lay ) to provide support for Syrian refugees who had settled in the region.