By: Aneeqa du Plessis

The disastrous earthquakes that devastated southeastern Türkiye and Northern Syria earlier this month and again on  February 20 calls for a dedicated and continued global humanitarian response.

Speaking on VOC’s Breakfast show on Friday morning, Gift of the Givers team leader for search and rescue Ahmed Bham described the current state in Turkiye and Syria.

“The devastation is at such a massive scale at the moment and so much more assistance is needed in the Hatay, Turkey province and in Syria too. Most international aid organizations aren’t able to enter Syria and this means whatever aid is offered it is mostly for the Turkish,” explained Bham.

To date, the combined death toll is over 46,000 and climbing. Hundreds of thousands have been left homeless and without shelter, food, potable water, and medical care. While Thousands remain unaccounted for. Time remains a critical part of the rescue mission.

“You have a certain window period that allows you to find victims alive and lucky for us, GOTG was on the ground quite quickly to ensure we can save as many lives as possible. The cold weather conditions have also made it difficult for rescue workers to achieve the best outcome,” said Bham.

Following the second earthquake, buildings that were damaged initially have now collapsed during the second quake. According to Bham, the entire mop-up operation could take months to complete.

“We managed to remove 15 bodies from the rubble in order to give families closure and two living victims. Our team also found a collapsed building that had hundreds of dead bodies in it and this unfortunately does take a mental toll on the volunteers,” said Bham on the mental wellbeing of the team.

“That’s why our counselling sessions are so important upon our return so that we can debrief. It is different witnessing trauma on such a large scale versus situations we deal with on a daily basis,” added Bham.

“The Turkish authorities have been very proactive in their response to the disaster. They have provided tents to house citizens affected by the quakes but it is unfortunate that because of the political stance in the Syrian region they have been left with very little aid,” Bham.

VOC