One year after the earthquake in Turkey, thousands of people still suffer its consequences

One year after the earthquakes that shook the southeast of Türkiye and northern neighboring Syria, the humanitarian situation of the affected communities has deteriorated, with thousands of families who have not yet recovered from the impact of the devastation, several humanitarian agencies warned today.

The earthquake, of magnitude 7.8, shook eleven provinces of the country, claiming the lives of 50,000 people, while in Syria there were 5,900 deaths.

“After the catastrophe, needs for housing, basic services, shelter, electricity, health care and telecommunications have increased,” said in Geneva the spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)Shabia Mantoo, who recalled that Turkey is one of the largest refugee-hosting countries in the world, with 3.4 million of them.

Mantoo warned that, despite the “awesome” Turkish humanitarian response, which received support from NGOs, the UN and the international community, the impact of the earthquakes is still being felt both among the refugees and their Turkish hosts.

To address the situation, UNHCR has provided more than three million relief items such as tents, hygiene kits or warm clothing to refugees and local residents to support the government’s national response.

For its part, the Turkish Red Crescent mobilized 76,000 volunteers and more than 2,400 members of its staff at the time of the disaster, providing assistance to 10.5 million victims throughout the affected area and providing psychosocial support to more than 200,000. people.

However, the representative of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) in Turkey, Jessie Thompson, asked the international community to redouble its efforts in terms of financing, since, she assured, 65% of what is necessary to help is still missing. communities to rebuild their lives.

This situation has caused demonstrations in several areas of the country on the occasion of the anniversary of the earthquakes, especially in the province of Hatay, the most affected, where thousands of protesters took to the streets this morning to remember the victims and ask the government to be held accountable. the deaths that occurred after the tragedy.

Meanwhile, in the neighbor Syriawhere 90% of the population lives in poverty, more than 43,000 displaced by the earthquakes have not yet returned to their homes in the northwest of the country, with 40,000 of them in reception centers and 3,000 in camps, according to data from the UN.