While international aid is flowing massively towards Turkey, neighboring Syria, also affected by the earthquake, does not receive the same outpouring of solidarity. At war for twelve years with a fragmented territory and leaders under sanctions, the delivery of aid is more difficult there. In Lebanon, a country bordering Syria, aid is being organized for the victims of the disaster despite limited resources due to the devastating economic crisis.
With our correspondent in Beirut, Sophie Guignon
The day after the deadly earthquake, Lebanon sent teams of rescuers, firefighters and soldiers to Syria. Among them, 21 members of the Red Cross who operate in the region of Latakia, an area under the control of the Syrian regime.
Georges Kettaneh is the secretary general of the Lebanese Red Cross. ” Since Tuesday, we continue to work, he said. When we arrived, someone was saved. The majority now are corpses. It is humanitarian aid that is urgently needed to preserve the dignity of human beings. »
In Beirut, still marked by the explosion of its port two years ago, solidarity is being organized. In a mall, Eric Ritter, a clothing designer, appealed for donations for the families of his Syrian seamstresses whose buildings collapsed in Aleppo and Hama. ” THANKS. You can put the bags here. We gather them there. »
” We decided to send blankets, warm coats, children’s clothes and underwear first. Being from Beirut, having lived through some kind of disaster like that too, it’s very important to give back to everyone around us. “, he explains.
The parcels will cross the border by bus to deliver these donations. Larger convoys should follow in the days to come.
Up to 5.3 million people at risk of homelessness in Syria, UN says
“Up to 5.3 million people in Syria could be left without a place to live because of the earthquake,” said Sivanka Dhanapala, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at a conference in press in Damascus. He then clarified the number, estimating it at 5.37 million people.
“This is a colossal figure and applies to a population that has already suffered mass displacement” due to the civil war that has been raging in Syria since 2011, added Sivanka Dhanapala. ” For Syria, this is a crisis within a crisis. (Syria has had) economic shocks, the Covid and is currently experiencing a harsh winter “, he recalled.
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