Statement of solidarity & call for help after the earthquake: Immediate action is required!

Berlin, May 07.02.2023, XNUMX. In view of yesterday's earthquake and the terrible consequences for millions of people, we express our full support and express our solidarity with all those affected and their families! Now it is up to the German government and international politicians to react immediately and quickly in order to avert a humanitarian crisis. Donations can be found at the end of the press release.

As a result of the major earthquake yesterday, February 06, 2023, on the Turkish-Syrian border, the death toll has risen to several thousand - and there is no end in sight to the rising numbers. According to current estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), 23 million people in Turkey, in northern and western Kurdistan and in Syria are affected by the consequences of the earthquake. Further earthquakes cannot be ruled out due to the stress redistribution at the plate boundary. The aftermath of the earthquake in a region devastated by war and climate change threatens to culminate in a humanitarian crisis if there is no political intervention now that protects the human rights of all people.

Over the course of the last day, it has become more and more apparent what dramatic consequences the earthquake will have. We must not forget that this crisis is particularly affecting an area that was already precarious, insecure and unstable before the earthquake. There are millions of Syrian refugees in the affected region, whose inhumane situation in the camps will only continue to drastically worsen as a result of this catastrophe. In Rojava, where most of the civilian infrastructure has already been destroyed by recent Turkish airstrikes – including after the earthquake yesterday – the consequences of the earthquake will hit the civilian population doubly hard. And in Idlib, where people have been living in an area controlled by fundamentalist Islamist groups for years, people will be all the more dependent on international aid.

The severe destruction in Turkey is not only attributable to a natural disaster, but also has a political dimension. Nature is clearly not the culprit here, but the government without an action plan and without control against irregular urbanization and corruption. Experts point out that since the earthquake in Istanbul in 1999 at the latest, the Turkish state has had enough time to prepare for emergencies of this kind. This did not happen and thus also testifies to wrong prioritization and poor governance.

Regardless of the political dimension, the following applies in all affected regions: with temperatures below freezing, precarious accommodation for refugees and unstable living conditions in the ruined towns and villages, immediate direct help is now needed, which secures both the medical care and the food supply for all, but especially the most affected regions. We not only need international solidarity now, but also direct, unbureaucratic and fast humanitarian aid in regions that are hardly mentioned in the media and in which the majority of Kurds live. Who gets help and who doesn't – it's no coincidence. With aid organizations providing supplies, both the Turkish state and the Assad regime have a political instrument in their hands whose instrumentalization needs to be examined in detail. We call for the immediate opening of all border crossings between Turkey and Syria in order to enable rapid humanitarian aid in Syria as well. In addition, when coordinating international aid, we must always keep in mind that it is women and children in particular who are hit hardest in crisis and conflict areas.

Now, in addition to a wide range of international aid, solidary help from below is also important, because help and support will be needed exactly where millions of people have had to live under the most inhumane conditions for years. These are in particular the border regions of Turkey and Syria, where millions of people are forced to hold out in refugee camps, or in the Kurdish areas of south-eastern Turkey, where state and international aid often does not arrive, although it is needed and coordinated - because this is what the politicians want is. It is precisely for these reasons that direct support from local and decentralized aid organizations is essential for millions of those affected.

DaMigra wants to use all the means at its disposal to provide assistance and support in solidarity. Migrant and feminist associations in particular are welcome to contact us in our regions - we make our premises available for networking and dialogue meetings or provide support in other ways. All contacts of the regional offices are here a DAK Bungalow.

Donation note: Find out more in your home towns and cities, churches, aid organizations and associations accept donations in kind there and also need workers to help bring the donations in kind to the crisis region with an aid convoy. Donate to small, decentralized organizations on the ground that already have access, as it is estimated that it will take an average of two weeks for aid supplies from large international organizations to reach the affected areas.

Decentralized donations (these organizations act locally & already have access):

• Collected donations at medicine international

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Kurdish Red Crescent

Heyva Sor a Kurdistane eV

Kreissparkasse Cologne

Wilhelmstr. 12

53840 Troisdorf

IBAN: DE49 3705 0299 0004 0104 81

BIC: COKSDE33XXX

PayPal: www.paypal.me/heyvasorakurdistane

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Migrant Women's Association Frankfurt

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The Alevi community in Germany

Alevi community Germany Kdö.R.

Volksbank Cologne Bonn

IBAN: DE46 3806 0186 6401 4060 32

BIC: GENODED1BRS

Purpose: Donation Earthquake Turkey

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Centrally organized donations 

"Alliance Development Helps" & "Action Germany Helps" call for donations with the following account:

IBAN: DE53 200 400 600 200 400 600

BIC: COBADEFFXXX

Key word: ARD/earthquake Turkey and Syria

www.spenderkonto-nothilfe.de

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German Red Cross

https://www.drk.de/hilfe-weltweit/wo-wir-helfen/nahost/schweres-erdbeben-in-der-tuerkei-und-syrien/

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Disaster Relief Action Alliance

Donation account: Commerzbank

IBAN: DE65 100 400 600 100 400 600

BIC: COBADEFFXXX

Keyword: ZDF earthquake Turkey Syria

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Doctors of the world registered association

Donation account: Deutsche Kreditbank

IBAN: DE06 1203 0000 1004 3336 60

BIC: BYLADEM1001

Key word: emergency aid Turkey / Syria

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humedica registered association

Donation account: Sparkasse Kaufbeuren

IBAN: DE35 7345 0000 0000 0047 47

BIC: BYLADEM1KFB

Keyword: Earthquake Turkey

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UN refugee aid

Donation account: Sparkasse Köln Bonn

IBAN: DE78 3705 0198 0020 0088 50

BIC: COLSDE33

Key word: earthquake

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DaMigra eV represents the interests of women migrant organizations and their concerns and advocates equal opportunities, equal participation and the equality of women with a history of migration and refugee experience in Germany. DaMigra follows the approach of anti-racist feminism.