The controversial CEO of the Turkish Red Crescent, who was brought to that position due only for his religious background and lacking any experience in relief efforts, is under intense criticism for holding out sending tents after the worst earthquake disaster in recent years. Instead of sending the tents to the victims, the business-minded religious CEO started selling the tents to other volunteer organizations who were trying to get the tents to the victims.
The Red Crescent’s CEO Kerem Kınık, who has no knowledge or experience in aid or relief work, but has a religious education, tried, in vain, to justify trading relief supplies instead of distributing them to the freezing victims of the February 6, 2023 victims.
Under his administration, the Red Crescent relief organization was gutted, its assets sold, and its operations privatized and commissioned out to government-friendly corporations. Scandals mired the organization’s efforts in reaching the earthquake area even many days after the disaster.
Contracts given to other government-friendly secretive religious sects, buying expensive and luxurious vehicles with the obtained foreign funds, and renting villas with views and swimming pools at exorbitantly high rates for “offices” are some of the scandals surrounding the agency under this religious CEO. His son and daughter, who have no expertise in relief work, have also been appointed to high-ranking positions in relief organizations.
To answer the widespread criticism of keeping the relief tents in storage instead of sending them to the earthquake region to sell to third-party volunteer organizations, Kınık said the practice was nothing new, and this is how the organization conducted business. He also said the previous CEOs also sold tents in the market.
The tents sold were supposedly already paid for by the “earthquake tax” the government enforced on the population for years to prepare for such a disaster. Those funds have also disappeared with no accountability.
MB Sendika.org News