Tönisvorst/Cologne/Geneva/Aachen/Rhine-Ruhr. A day after the earthquake
action medeor: Help reaches earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria
A day after the severe earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the relief efforts are in full swing. The health aid organization action medeor supports its Turkish and Syrian partner organisations, which have been providing people in the destroyed cities with food, tents, blankets and emergency shelters since the early hours of yesterday. The medical care of the many injured has also started, but this means a great challenge for the helpers. “Our partners tell us that many hospitals were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake, so that the remaining clinics are currently completely overwhelmed,” says Sid Peruvemba, action medeor’s board spokesman. “There is a lack of beds, equipment and medication.”
In Syria in particular, the situation is still opaque. “Our partners are active in the Idlib region in north-west Syria, where there is no state-organized reporting system. However, we know that several hospitals have been destroyed and that the patients and injured now need emergency care,” says Peruvemba. “We have to help here as quickly as possible.” An action medeor investigative team is therefore already on its way to the crisis region in order to find out about the concrete needs and possibilities on site.
Already yesterday, a few hours after the earthquake, action medeor decided to provide 100,000 euros in emergency aid. The help should reach the people in different ways, as Peruvemba explains: “On the one hand, by supporting our local partner organizations. Secondly, by procuring medical supplies locally. Since we have been active in the earthquake region for years, we are very well networked there and know many pharmaceutical wholesalers who we have now contacted.” According to Peruvemba, the third way will be the delivery of relief supplies from Germany, but in this case later. “As a result, we are not putting any additional strain on the extremely strained logistics chains in the crisis area, but are using them at a time when new disaster logistics chains have been established.”
Anyone who would like to support the work of action medeor can do so with a donation. who online at www.medeor.de donates can also leave their address there for a donation receipt. The classic way is via IBAN DE78320500000000009993 at Sparkasse Krefeld, donation key word: “Earthquake Syria and Turkey”.
UNICEF helps the children in the earthquake area
Statement by UNICEF spokesman James Elder at today’s press conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva:
“The strongest earthquake in the region in almost 100 years came at the worst possible time for many particularly vulnerable children.
Thousands of homes have been destroyed, leaving families homeless and now exposed to the elements at a time of year when temperatures regularly drop below freezing and snow and sleet are common.
Displaced families in north-west Syria and Syrian refugee families living in informal settlements in Turkey are among the most vulnerable as temperatures continue to plummet below freezing at night.
There was an acute emergency situation in north-west Syria even before the earthquake. Families are grappling with an ongoing cholera outbreak and heavy rain and snow. Against this background and considering the conflict that has been going on for more than a decade, this earthquake is almost unbearable.
While we don’t have verified figures yet, we do know that numerous schools, hospitals and other medical and educational facilities were damaged or destroyed by the quakes – with serious consequences for children.
UNICEF aid after the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
In Syria, the immediate focus of UNICEF’s work is ensuring that affected children and families have access to safe drinking water and sanitation – critical to preventing waterborne diseases.
In the area of child protection, our focus is to identify children who have been separated from their parents or are unaccompanied and to reunite them with their families.
The psychological first aid for children is now particularly important. Schools in Turkey and parts of Syria have been closed for the next week, many serving as temporary shelters for affected children and families. Ensuring that children can return to their classrooms as soon as possible, once they are safe enough to give children some normality and comfort amidst the chaos, must be ensured.
In terms of medical supplies, medical supplies and trauma kits are scarce in Damascus. UNICEF seeks to fill immediate gaps in all supplies (including medical supplies) through our nearest warehouses in Lebanon and Jordan. We have already procured supplies for operating rooms and high-protein biscuits.
Internally displaced people in Syria are in urgent need of food and access to medical assistance, especially children under the age of two and pregnant women, to keep their nutritional status from deteriorating. UNICEF coordinates its nutrition efforts with other UN agencies and partners, mobilizing essential food supplies from across the region and providing critical health and nutrition services through mobile teams.
In Turkey, international aid is currently focused on search and rescue operations. UNICEF is coordinating with the government and senior management of disaster and emergency management agencies on emerging needs related to overall humanitarian response. Our support will include hygiene kits, blankets and winter clothing.”
Diocese of Aachen and Caritas call for donations for earthquake victims
Special collection at the weekend for the people in the disaster area
The Diocese of Aachen and the Caritas Association for the Diocese of Aachen are jointly calling for donations for the victims of the severe earthquake in the Syrian-Turkish border region. At the weekend, a special collection for the people in the disaster area is to be collected in the Sunday services.
“Help the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria and take care of the care of the survivors,” write Deputy Vicar General Rolf-Peter Cremer and Diocesan Caritas Director Stephan Jentgens in a joint letter to the parishes in the Diocese of Aachen. On Tuesday morning, the authorities reported that more than 5,000 people have been recovered dead from the rubble of collapsed houses in the Syrian-Turkish border region after the devastating February 6 earthquake. The actual death toll is estimated to be far higher. In their letter, Cremer and Jentgens describe the dramatic situation: “Tens of thousands have lost their homes in the cold of winter. Among those affected, it is mainly refugees in the Turkish border area with Syria who are looking for protection and security there.”
Diocese and Caritas call for special collections in the services and for donations. The funds are passed on to partner organizations in Syria and Turkey via Caritas Germany, the aid organization of the German Caritas Association. “The need for relief items such as food, water, blankets and tents for temporary accommodation will be enormous, that can already be foreseen,” says Oliver Müller, head of Caritas Germany.
Donation account:
Caritas international
IBAN: DE88 6602 0500 0202 0202 02, BIC: BFSWDE33KRL
Keyword: CY01332 earthquake relief
