A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria over a week ago. Current broadcasts from news outlets such as CNN are showing rescue workers in the two areas of the Kahramanmaras region. In this current broadcast, rescuers were trying to save three sisters who were buried beneath the debris.
The current death toll across Turkey and Syria is said to be as high as 37,800 people according to CNN. As of February 6th, there were 4,300 dead. The two nations are working on providing relief for earthquake survivors.
CNN indicate the United Nations is accepting the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s decision to open the crossings between Turkey and Syria for three months, so that humanitarian aid can become easily accessible. The humanitarian aid includes a $397 million humanitarian appeal for the victims in Syria for three months, and a similar donation will be decided for Turkey as well.
The topic of aid becomes a little complicated, however. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekhdad
announces that any international aid must come through the capital city Damascus. However, there are
currently sanctions from Western nations due to the fact that there was a campaign which resulted in
the killings of thousands of civilians due to the civil war. While infrastructure such as homes and places of work have been completely obliterated, the amount of trauma civilians are facing is incomprehensible, and devastating to say the least. The World Health Organization made an announcement, advocating for “trauma rehabilitation” when treating the population. Turkey’s representative Batyr Berdyklychev stated the the amount of people who are undergoing trauma is concerning, and pushed for “psychological and mental health services in the affected regions.” As of right now, priority is being given to mental health services. Twenty Two emergency
medical teams are also being given priority and are being deployed by the WHO earthquake team.
Social media platforms such as instagram and twitter have become a hotspot for sharing tragic photos
as a result of the earthquake. Many around the globe are devastated, and the accounts from victims as young as three years old are enough to make people’s hearts break. CNN reports three-month old Mohammad who has lost his family. He is currently in intensive care in Syria, and is on a ventilator. The hospital he is currently in is the last rebel-held territory in northwestern Syria. The hospital alone is currently treating 700 patients.
The current situation in Turkey and Syria are extremely different. Currently in Syria, a plethora of countries and international organizations are prioritizing aid for the Syrian people. In northern Syria, specifically, urgent supplies have been delivered. The situation in northern Syria is increasingly complicated given the civil war between the Syrian government and opposing forces, which is led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Dr. Ahmad Alaabd, who works at Babs Al Hawa Hospital reported while the hospital has faced many injuries due to war, the hospital has never seen this many casualties as a result of the earthquake.
