Tuesday, March 14, 2023

 The aftermath of the Syrian earthquake and the UN's failure

Rescuing team in Aleppo in the aftermath of the Earthquake. Photo by Salem Mohammadi for Tasnim News Agency, Wikimedia Commons CC BY 4.0. Fair use

This piece was published by Baynana Magazine on February 12, 2023. An edited version is republished here, under a content-sharing agreement.

The dangers of earthquakes continue in Syria and Turkey, as a new aftershock measuring 4.6 magnitude struck Hatay in southern Turkey on February 12. The aftershock was felt by residents in northwestern regions of Syria at 1:30 a.m. 

In the three weeks following the earthquake on February 6, more than 10,000 aftershocks of light to medium intensity were felt in the northwestern regions of Syria.

The Syrian civil defense force, commonly referred to as The White Helmets, has issued a warning to civilians, urging them to remain vigilant and cautious, especially in areas where buildings are in a state of disrepair, as well as in the vicinity of collapsed buildings and ramshackle walls. Civilians have been advised to immediately move to open spaces as soon as they feel any tremors, in order to ensure their safety.

As of February 11, the civil defense teams had recorded more than 2,167 deaths and over 2,950 injuries as a result of the recent earthquake in northwestern Syria. More than 55,700 deaths had been confirmed as of 10 March 2023.

Despite harsh conditions, including the need to work amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings, search operations kept going to recover the bodies of the deceased in many areas of the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo.

Bab Al-Hawa crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border announced on February 11 through its social media accounts that approximately 1,100 bodies had been transported through the crossing:

As of the publication date, it has been reported that about 1,100 bodies of our people who died in the earthquake that struck southern #Turkey and northern #Syria have been transported to the Babal-Hawa crossing. The staff at the crossing are still working 24/7 to deliver the remaining bodies of our people, which are arriving successively to their families.

According to the Ministry of Health of the Bashar al-Assad regime, the number of deaths in the regions of Halab, Latakia, and Aleppo, which are under the control of the regime, has reached 1,408, with 2,341 individuals injured. As a result, the total number of casualties across Syria, as of the date of this publication, has exceeded 4,175 deaths and thousands injured. However, the number has reached more than 48,400 dead in Turkey and more than 7,200 dead in Syria as of March 10.

According to the Bashar al-Assad regime‘s Ministry of Health, he number of deaths in the regime-controlled regions of Halab, Latakia, and Aleppo has reached 1,408, with 2,341 people injured. As of March 10, the figure had risen to more than 48,400 dead in Turkey and more than 7,200 dead in Syria.

Inadequate aid to northwest Syria

The aid that was delivered to Syria after nearly a week after the earthquake was not sufficient to cope with the scale of the disaster.

On February 9, the first United Nations aid convoy reached northwest Syria via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, an area outside the Syrian regime's control. The region has suffered greatly from the earthquake and is one of the hardest hit areas. The convoy consisted of six trucks loaded with essential food supplies and hygiene kits, which were urgently needed to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the area.

Mazen Alloush, the media officer at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, informed AFP that the first UN aid convoy “arrived today after four days from the earthquake.” However, the White Helmets rescue group said they were disappointed by the aid, “This is certainly not special aid and equipment for search and rescue teams.”

The second aid convoy reached Jenderes city in northern Aleppo following the earthquake on February 11 was from Saudi Arabia. The city has been deemed the most heavily impacted, with over 580 reported fatalities by the civil defense.

On February 12 a delegation from the Qatari Red Crescent arrived in Idlib to assist with search and rescue operations and provide aid to those affected by the earthquake. The team comprised two specialized teams that had been dispatched to northern Syria. The first team consisted of five Egyptian doctors, while the second was a three-member Spanish rescue team.

Aid to regions controlled by the al-Assad regime and Turkey

Despite the complicated political relations between Bashar al-Assad's regime and the rest of the world, some countries have set politics aside to provide assistance without directly engaging with the Assad regime.

In a statement to Baynana magazine, Franz Gillen, the International Communications Coordinator at CESAL, a Spanish humanitarian organization that runs refugee programs, confirmed that they had deployed serval teams to both Syria and Turkey in response to the earthquake. 

Franz Gillen confirmed that on February 9, CESAL sent a team of volunteer cooks to the disaster areas as part of the emergency hospital team that was dispatched. He also noted that the Spanish government decided to send aid to Turkey following their request for assistance. He added: 

Along with the Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID), is part of the emergency response team called START, which can establish a field hospital within 72 hours anywhere in the world. In this instance, the field hospital was sent to Hatay, Turkey.

Gillen clarified that the CESAL team dispatched to Syria will be working in the cities of Aleppo and Latakia, which are under the control of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Meanwhile, according to a source at the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid who spoke to the Agence France-Presse (AFP), Saudi Arabia has pledged to provide aid to areas affected by the Syrian conflict, including those under the control of the al-Assad regime. The source confirmed that the aid will be sent directly to Aleppo International Airport and the Syrian Red Crescent in Damascus. However, the source also stated that there are no direct communication channels with the Syrian government.

Several Arab countries have announced that they are sending search teams and planes loaded with aid to areas under Assad's control in Syria, including Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates.

The aid received was nowhere near what was needed in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Criticism of the UN's performance

Activists placed the United Nations flag upside down on collapsed buildings in northwest Syria that were affected by an earthquake, condemning the lack of assistance provided to those trapped under the rubble. 

Raed Al Saleh, the director of the civil defense organization in Syria, has criticized the United Nations for the delayed arrival of aid to the northwest region of Syria. He has called for an investigation into the reasons for the UN's failure to deliver aid to the region.

As a result, Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, has acknowledged that the United Nations has not been successful in assisting Syrians in the northwest region of the country, and apologized for it


Commission of Inquiry Blames Regime, UN 
for Delayed Aid Delivery to Syrians
On February 9th, the first UN aid convoy, consisting of six trucks carrying food and cleaning materials, entered northern Idleb, according to Syria TV.

On Monday, a commission of inquiry appointed by the United Nations attributed the delays in delivering emergency aid to Syrians after February’s earthquake to the international organization, the Syrian regime, and other parties.

According to Reuters, there is mounting criticism of the United Nations for its handling of the aftermath of last month’s earthquake, which claimed the lives of approximately six thousand Syrians, predominantly in areas near the Syrian-Turkish border in northwestern Syria. This criticism coincides with the recent findings from the UN-appointed commission of inquiry.

Asma al-Assad Calls Sham: Another Political Exploitation of Syria’s Disasters

In a statement, Committee Chairman Paulo Pinheiro expressed that despite some heroic efforts amidst immense suffering, there has been a significant failure on the part of the Syrian regime government and the international community, including the United Nations, to promptly provide essential aid to Syrians in critical need.

Syrians felt let down 

The statement further noted that the involved parties could not come to an agreement to cease hostilities and facilitate the passage of life-saving aid through any feasible means, leaving Syrians feeling “abandoned and neglected by those responsible for safeguarding them during their most trying moments.”  

On February 9th, the first UN aid convoy, consisting of six trucks carrying food and cleaning materials, entered northern Idleb through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey. 

According to AFP, Mazen Alloush, the media officer at the Bab al-Hawa crossing, stated that the initial UN aid convoy arrived “four days after the earthquake,” despite being anticipated to arrive before the disaster occurred.

 

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

Syria On The Brink: After 12 Years Of Conflict, Earthquakes Impact Signals A Country Pushed Beyond Limits

As Syria enters its 13th year of conflict on March 15, the recent earthquakes that have hit the country have compounded the already dire humanitarian crisis after years of suffering, pushing the country to the brink, Save the Children said.

The conflict has led to multiple displacements, widespread poverty, and millions of Syrian children suffering repeated shocks only exacerbated by the earthquakes that have displaced over 50,000 children from their homes.

Diaa-, 51, his wife and two sons lost their home in Aleppo after the earthquakes hit the country on the 6 February. They had already been displaced multiple times over the course of Syria’s conflict. He said:

" I lost count of how many times I was displaced. We went through a lot. We have been under siege twice and we almost died. Eventually, we were displaced to the north. We fled and were displaced multiple times to many places, to square zero every time."

Entire neighbourhoods in Northern Syria have been rendered uninhabitable, and collective shelters have become more overcrowded than ever. The area worst affected by the earthquakes, that impacted at least 8.8 million people in Syria, is home to some of the country’s most vulnerable people, who had already been forced to flee their homes multiple times due to the conflict and a crippling economic crisis.

Thousands of families in Syria are living in unfinished buildings, informal settlements, and makeshift tents. Diaa- added:

"We found a house to live in. In reality, it was not inhabitable. No doors, no windows, absolutely nothing. Even the walls were not insulated. We suffered a lot. When it rained, water would get inside the house."

"We live in a huge trauma, and we never imagined having this life. Even these tents, they are made of thin plastic. When wind got stronger for a couple of nights, we had to keep fixing the tent to the ground from all sides using rocks. The earthquake came on top of all this."

Keeping warm has become even more challenging due to fuel and electricity shortages. Displaced families in Syria are increasingly resorting to desperate measures, with multiple reports of children being injured by explosive remnants of war while collecting firewood.

Fadel- is 10 years old and has lived in tents most of his life. He helps his family of nine by collecting firewood after school six days a week, to keep warm and be able to cook. He said:

"We came to the tents eight years ago. I have a three-year-old brother with a disability. I remember at least three times when we had no food and I slept out of hunger. I collect firewood daily, except Fridays. The road is difficult because it is slippery, and there are holes on it."

In 2023, Syria remains one of the world’s largest displacement crises. According to the latest Humanitarian Needs Overview for Syria, more than 15 million people across the country were already dependent on humanitarian aid to meet their basic needs. It’s estimated there were 1.9 million displaced people in opposition-held areas of North West Syria alone before the earthquakes, most of whom were women and children. Following the earthquakes, at least 86,000 people were reportedly newly displaced, more than half of whom are children.

Kathryn Achilles, Advocacy, Media and Communications Director for Save the Children’s Syria Response, said:

"For millions of Syrians, this week marks the beginning of the 13 th year of living under the shadow of conflict and displacement , a fate they never chose for themselves. Now the earthquakes have made children afraid of the very ground they walk on, and the fragile walls they used to call home. How much more can Syrian children be expected to endure?

"They have shown remarkable resilience over the past 12 years, but enough is enough. We cannot be content with merely helping children to survive, living in tents, reliant on humanitarian assistance.

"After the earthquakes, we must act to help children recover. To ensure they have safe schools to attend, and their parents have decent jobs to provide for them. Above all, Syrian children must be able to build the bright futures that they see for themselves."

Save the Children has been providing assistance to the children in need in Syria since 2012. Save the Children programming combines emergency and life-saving interventions with early recovery activities that support the restoration of basic services and aims to reach every last child in need.

As part of the earthquake response, Save the Children is delivering aid through partners, responding in Idlib, Aleppo and Raqqa governorates, and providing emergency food rations, blankets, tents and warm clothing. Save the Children is also making sure children and their families can keep clean, healthy and protected from illness and diseases by providing safe drinking water, and essential hygiene and sanitation items.

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