In order to cover their failure to appear after the disaster, the very same officials who failed the victims ordered that the relief efforts not coordinated under the government’s AFAD agency would be banned from helping the victims. The aid tents and food distribution centers set up by those the government deems opposition were raided by the police, and volunteers were detained and arrested at the relief sites.
A month after the disaster, some villages are still waiting for tents in freezing cold temperatures. The government’s fiasco is being criticized as “not helping, but also not allowing others to help either.” In the latest scandal that was revealed, Red Crescent refused to send the tents in its inventory. Instead, as the Red Crescent’s CEO admitted, these tents were sold to organizations involved in volunteer efforts.
In the first days of the earthquake, while insisting that no coordination other than the official AFAD organization would be allowed, a list of needs began to be sent to the presidents of the associations. There is high concern that the ongoing corruption will continue with government-friendly associations and religious sects getting government relief contracts.
In the early days of the earthquakes, President Tayyip Erdoğan, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum, and related institutions said that they would not allow relief organizations outside the official AFAD organization in the disaster area. After Erdoğan and the Ministry of Interior reversed themselves, they are now sending a list of needs to the presidents of the associations.
The Turkish government failed to reach the earthquake victims in the critical first days of the earthquake disaster that hit the southeastern part of Turkey. However, many independent and spontaneous teams, associations, municipalities, and groups poured in immediately to help the victims, including bringing in food, water, tents, blankets, and other supplies. Especially socialist and communist organizations reached the earthquake site and opened food distribution centers and medical tents with doctors, nurses, and pharmaceuticals free of charge to the victims. This exposed the failure of the government that had privatized the relief agencies and had turned these institutions into trading posts. The head of the Red Crescent, the top relief agency, has no experience or knowledge of how to coordinate relief efforts and has a background in divinity and religious studies. He gets substantially paid from 12 different sub-divisions, or corporations, within the agency. His son and daughters also were appointed to the agencies receiving high salaries. He was brought to that position due to his religious background and closeness to the Erdogan government.
In order to cover their failure to appear after the disaster, the very same officials who failed the victims ordered that the relief efforts not coordinated under the government’s AFAD agency would be banned from helping the victims. The aid tents and food distribution centers set up by those the government deems opposition were raided by the police, and volunteers were detained and arrested at the relief sites.
A month after the disaster, some villages are still waiting for tents in freezing cold temperatures. The government’s fiasco is being criticized as “not helping, but also not allowing others to help either.” In the latest scandal that was revealed, Red Crescent refused to send the tents in its inventory. Instead, as the Red Crescent’s CEO admitted, these tents were sold to organizations involved in volunteer efforts.
Now the agency is commissioning other associations in preparation for help packages to distribute in the region. This is regarded as another admission of the failure to respond to the people’s needs after the earthquake disaster.
The message sent to the presidents of the associations, including the amount of food and supplies necessary for the victims, is as follows:
Honourable President, we express our gratitude for your support and contribution during this difficult period that we have been going through as a country and we have lost many of our people. As you know, we have made and continue to make an incredible effort as both the state, the nation and NGOs in order to be a salve to the wounds in the disaster of the century.
However, especially as NGOs, the continuation of our activities towards our brothers and sisters in the disaster zone stands before us as a humanitarian responsibility. In this context, we are waiting for your support in delivering the food and hygiene kits in the list mentioned in the link below to those in need in the region.
Thank you very much for what you have done and will do. General Directorate of Civil Society Relations https://siviltoplum.gov.tr/kurumlar/siviltoplum.gov.tr/smsLinkleri/gida_ve_hijyen_listesi.docx
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