Why People in Turkey and Syria Still Need Your Help

Although the earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria occurred over a month ago, citizens in the areas are still suffering from the effects of the disaster. The death toll from the earthquakes has surpassed 56,000 people, which is a little over half of the population of Tompkins County, New York. Despite the ebb and flow of the news, the need for help in Turkey and Syria has remained ever present.

As of March 15, there were 103,000 internally displaced people in northwest Syria, since the first earthquake that occurred on Feb. 6. This region of the country was especially hit hard because of the preexisting humanitarian issues the area already faced. In places like the northwest region, the area already relied heavily on humanitarian aid which was only exacerbated by the earthquakes. After over a decade of conflict that has affected the region, the need for humanitarian assistance has been ongoing for problems like permanent shelter, access to water and food insecurity (Center for Disaster Philanthropy). According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, access to water and sanitation systems in rural areas before 2010 was at 92%, now after the earthquakes only 50% of people have access throughout the entire country (ICRC).

While Red Crescent teams have been in Turkey and Syria providing relief assistance, the need for resources and donations has remained prevalent. Since the initial quake the relief teams have provided various forms of help including medical and financial assistance, however as more aftershocks hit the region and internal and external conflict persists in Syria, humanitarian aid is needed now more than ever for a region that is continuously struck with disaster. Donating would allow for families to receive funds to meet essential needs and to help increase the capacities of hospitals to support critical surgeries. Your donation would also help reunite displaced families and young children who have experienced trauma to receive mental health resources (ICRC). The people in Turkey and Syria will need help long after people stop talking about the tragedy of the earthquakes and making a donation can help them in many more ways than you would think.