February 8, 2023 • 38 mins
Shereen discusses the recent earthquakes that have devastated Turkey and Syria, the subsequent international response, and how sanctions have worsened Syria’s chance of recovery.
The White Helmets:
https://www.whitehelmets.org/en/
The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) Foundation
https://www.sams-usa.net/
Molham Team
https://molhamteam.com/en/campaigns/439
American Relief Fund
https://arforganization.org/donations/
Doctors Without Borders
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello, and welcome to It could happen here. This is
Sharne and today I will be talking to you about
the series of devastating earthquakes that have happened in Turkey
and Syria this week. I am recording this the afternoon
of Tuesday, February seven. I am giving you that disclaimer
because the numbers keep changing as far as the casualties
(00:28):
and the death toll goes. So if the numbers are
different by the time this comes out, which they probably
will be, that is why. Unfortunately, that is the nature
of disasters like this. So there's nothing much that we
can do. But let's talk about the earthquakes themselves. First.
The initial earthquake was a magnitude of seven point eight
(00:50):
and it happened in southeastern Turkey early on Monday morning
their local time, and it was followed by magnitude seven
point five earthquake only nine hours later, amidst eeveral aftershocks.
All aftershocks are individual earthquakes, but as long as they
are not stronger than the original quake, they are considered
after shocks. But the seven point five magnitude tremor that
(01:13):
happened after the seven point eight one only point three
of a difference. It was an unusually strong aftershock. According
to seismologists, aftershocks are typically about one point to magnitude
units lower than the original earthquake, So if there was
a magnitude eight earthquake, the after shock would be in
magnitude seven. So this was all a very rare, disastrous occurrence.
(01:36):
The second earthquake was a shock notable all on its own,
as well as in relation to the primary earthquake. As
of Tuesday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey,
at least one and twenty five aftershocks measuring four point
zero or greater have occurred since the initial seven point
eight one. The frequency in magnitude of the aftershocks are decreasing,
(02:00):
as is expected as we get further out from the
time of the original earthquake. However, five point zero and
six point zero aftershocks are still possible, and they bring
a risk of additional damage to structures that are compromised
from the original earthquake. This brings a continued threat to
rescue teams and survivors. The aftershocks stretched for more than
(02:20):
four kilometers or about two fifty miles along the fault
zone that ruptured in southern Turkey. It stretches from the
Mediterranean Sea off the northern coast of Syria up to
the province of Malatia. The initial tremor was centered about
twenty miles from a major city and provincial capital, Gauzian Tepe,
and seismologists said that this first earthquake was one of
(02:43):
the largest ever recorded in Turkey's history. It was also
the region's strongest earthquake. In nearly a century nine, an
earthquake of the same magnitude killed thirty thousand people. Earthquakes
of this magnitude are rare, with fewer than five i've
occurring each year on average anywhere in the world. Seven
(03:03):
earthquakes with magnitude seven point zero or greater have struck
Turkey in the past twenty five years, but the one
that occurred on Monday it's the most powerful. The effects
were also felt in the neighboring countries of Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel,
and Egypt, to name a few. But there's a reason
white earthquakes are so frequent in Turkey. Turkey sits on
(03:24):
fault lines, and these earthquakes in the region have caused
deadly landslides in the past Turkey is situated on two
massive tectonic plates, the Arabian and the Eurasian, and these
meat underneath Turkey's southeastern provinces. Along this fault line, about
hundred miles from one side or the other, the earth slipped.
(03:46):
Seismologists refer to this event as a strike slip, where
the plates are touching and all of a sudden they
slide sideways. In a strike slip, the plates are moving
horizontally rather than vertically. This matters because the building don't
want to go back and forth, and then the secondary
waves begin to go back and forth as well. Because
(04:07):
of the nature of this seismic event, the aftershocks could
last for weeks and months. I have had to update
the death toll many many times in preparing this episode.
I am probably going to have to update it many
many more times before this comes out. But as of now,
(04:27):
when I am recording this the evening of Tuesday, February seven,
the death toll is over seven thousand and nine hundred
deaths in Turkey and Syria combined, and it's expected to
rise significantly more in Syria as these days go by.
The exact number that is being reported is seven thousand
(04:48):
nine hundred and twenty six people. The Syrian Civil Defense
a k a. The White Helmets said that the number
of fatalities and rebel held areas in northwest Syria rose
to a thousand, two hundred and twenty and the number
of injured people rose to two thousand, six hundred, and
these figures are expected to rise significantly due to the
presence of hundreds of families under the rubble. The White
(05:12):
Helmet said quote, our teams continue search and rescue operations
in difficult circumstances, and they described a tally of more
than four hundred collapsed buildings and more than one thousand,
three hundred partially collapsed buildings and thousands of others that
were damaged. Additionally, at least eight hundred and twelve deaths
have been confirmed in government controlled parts of Syria. In Turkey,
(05:34):
at least five thousand, eight hundred and ninety four people
are dead and thirty four thousand, eight hundred and ten
are injured. And this number is only going to continue
to rise. I don't know when it will stop. Maybe
a week from now, maybe a month. I don't know
how many more people will be unaccounted for and not
(05:55):
reported about but this is what we have for now.
You've probably seen pictures or videos of the devastation that
is happening. In all the destruction, there have been really
disturbing images of the ground literally just opening up in
two and as if you can see the core of
the earth. And other videos show the collapsed buildings and
(06:19):
the rubble that rescuers are trying to dig underneath to
find survivors. This is one story out of many, but
a newborn baby was reportedly rescued from the rubble in Syria,
and there is a video of this. A baby girl
was rescued from the rubble of her home. Her umbilical
cord was still attached to her mother when she was found,
(06:42):
and her mother is believed to have died after giving birth.
One of the men that found her said, we heard
a voice while we were digging. We cleared the dust
and found the baby with the umbilical cord intact, so
we cut it and my cousin took her to the hospital.
The girl is receiving treatment at a children's hospital and
as of now she is stable, but arrived with bruises, lacerations,
(07:05):
and hypothermia, and she's the sole survivor of her immediate family.
They lived in a five story apartment building that was
leveled by the quake. And again, this is one example
of the stories of thousands of people. And I think
what's important to remember is that even after someone is rescued,
they're not exactly home free. They can have many injuries
(07:28):
or hypothermia because it's very cold over there right now,
and their recovery is going to be brutal. And I
feel like that's a good thing to keep in mind
when you hear the word rescue, because the trauma doesn't
stop there. Almost six thousand buildings have been destroyed by
this earthquake, and this includes residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and
(07:49):
the damage is even more severe in northwestern Syria because
it had been in the process of attempting to reconstruct
itself since the Syrian War started in Thankfully, members of
the international community have stepped up to coordinate relief efforts
to Turkey and Syria after the powerful earthquakes. However, sending
aid to Syria is going to be difficult because there's
(08:12):
no central government to take care of the multi sectorial response.
The Turkish government said quote, we do not know where
the number of dead and injured can go. In Syria,
rescue workers used headlamps and floodlights to work throughout the night.
Many Syrian war refugees are also in the quake stricken
area of Turkey. Turkey has taken in three point six
(08:35):
million Syrian refugees, more than any other country, and this
is according to the u N Refugee Agency, which runs
one of its largest operations in Gaszian, Tepe, where the
first earthquake happened and again. Videos shared on social media
from Turkey and across the border in Syria have showed
destroyed buildings and rescue crews searching through piles of rebble
(08:57):
for survivors. Some people fled their homes in the rain
and took shelter in their cars, and governments around the
world quickly responded to Turkey's request for international assistance, many
of them deploying rescue teams and offers of aid, which
I will get into in a bit. The World Health
Organization warned that the number of casualties are likely to
(09:19):
increase as much as eight times as rescuers are finding
more victims in the rubble. Rescuers have been combing through
mountains of rubble and freezing and snowy conditions to find survivors,
and these freezing conditions will leave many people without shelter,
adding to the dangers. It is freezing over there, and
(09:41):
that obviously only makes things more difficult and more painful
and more complicated. And we always see the same thing
with earthquakes unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of
the numbers of people who have died or have been
injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows.
The situation on the ground seems to be more disastrous
(10:03):
in Syria, and this is according to the country director
in Ghazian Tepe for the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation.
He said, it's a disastrous situation in both Turkey and Syria,
although Syria is more disastrous. Over a decade of conflict
in Northern Syria has fostered a poor economic situation to
say the least, making it very difficult to respond to
(10:26):
the current crisis. In contrast, the situation in Turkey is
coordinated through a very well settled government and Northern Syria
unfortunately has no government that gives a shit about it.
In Northern Syria, most of the services and help are
provided by NGOs, and this is due to a long
term lack of investments in early recovery and infrastructure. One
(10:49):
of these groups again is the White Helmets. They were
one of the main saviors or helpers ever since the
Syrians Civil war started in eleven They have been on
the ground helping and they are made up of Syrian volunteers.
And I think that's important to keep in mind because
many Syrians have relied on each other and each other
alone because they didn't receive help in the past. And
(11:10):
I'm going to get into later how much the country's
civil war has made things exponentially worse. Several parts in
northwestern Syria, including the city of Islab, are still controlled
by anti government rebels. This representative added that they evacuated
to maturity hospitals because of the physical impact of the
earthquake on the infrastructure. And so the question is where
(11:34):
are these people going to go. There's no shelter, it
is freezing, and there's not enough aid to go around.
And I'm hoping the countries that have said they will
help are in the process of actually doing so. And
I'm going to get into some of them in a
moment because I'm grateful that there's help coming from somewhere.
(11:55):
And amongst all this, there have been calls to ease
the Syrian border restrictions and controls. Four countries to offer
their aid and again the rebel held on clave in
northwest Syria, across the border from Turkey, is among the
areas that have been hit the worst by this disaster.
International pledges, as I said, of emergency aid have poured
(12:16):
in for Turkey and Syria, leading to calls for the
international community to relax some of the political restrictions on
aid entering Northwest Syria. The Turkish President Aragon, who was
facing an election only a few months, said the offers
of aid to Turkey had come from forty five countries,
ranging from Kuwait to Israel, Russia and the UK. Syria
(12:37):
said it had received offers of help from China, Russia, Lebanon, Algeria,
and the United Arab Immirance. Aid from around the world
is thankfully heading towards Turkey and Syria, and some seventy
countries and fourteen international organizations have offered their assistance. Here's
a roundup of some of the latest pledges. There is
(13:00):
a Hungarian rescue team of fifty people, including five military
doctors and to search dogs. South Korea plans to offer
humanitarian aid worth five million to Turkey and send about
a hundred and ten disaster relief workers and military personnel
to support its search and rescue work. You may notice
that I'm only saying they're sending aid to Turkey and
(13:21):
a couple of these, and I will get into why
in a little bit, but to continue, the Palestinian International
Corporation Agency will deploy seventy experts to the quake later
this week, sending two crews comprised of the Civil Defense,
Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Red Cross. As well
as doctors and engineers. There are also teams from the
(13:43):
Palestinian Red Crescent and they are carrying out earthquake rescue
and relief operations and the Palestinian refugee camps and the
surrounding areas in Syria. At least three Palestinian refugee camps
in Syria were struck by the earthquake. Pakistan deployed to
content engines of emergency services to Turkey. China said it
(14:03):
will send about five point nine million dollars worth of
aid to Turkey, while also coordinating with Syria for emergency
supplies and accelerating ongoing food aid projects to Israeli aid
groups chartered a special flight to Gauzi and tep on
Tuesday to bring personnel and equipment to victims. Germany's Federal
Agency for Technical Relief is sending a team of fifty
(14:24):
recovery experts to Turkey. The Dalai Lama committed to sending
rescue and relief efforts early today, and Taiwan increased its
donation to Turkey from two hundred thousand to two million
dollars and it dispatched about a hundred and thirty rescue teams.
Indonesia also supplied aid for Turkey. The Vice President of
Indonesia highlighted the urgency of dispatching humanitarian aid to Turkey
(14:48):
to return the support granted by the country to Indonesia
during their times of need over natural disasters in the past.
Canada also pledged seven point five million dollars to earth
quake relief. Egypt offered relief assistance to Syria in the
wake of this earthquake. Ukraine will send eight seven emergency
staff workers to Turkey to assist with the relief efforts
(15:12):
and not just countries, but also companies and nonprofits have
offered their help. This week. For example, Amazon announced that
it will help the victims of Turkey earthquake by donating food, medicine,
and equipment from its Istanbul warehouse. Amazon has about two
thousand employees in Turkey, and in a statement on Monday,
(15:32):
it said that it activated its quote disaster relief capabilities
and was preparing to donate relief items including blankets, tents, food,
baby food, and medicines. Even here in the US, the
Virginia Task Force one is sending a crew of seventy
nine members and six dogs to Turkey, and there are
seventy eight members of the l A County Fire Department
(15:55):
who left Monday evening to Turkey. And then there's Greece,
who set aside tensions with Turkey to send aid. But
helping Syria, they said, is more complicated. Despite its tensions
with Turkey, Greece was among the countries that have dispatched
help to the country, but conflict torn Northwest Syria makes
the same efforts more complicated, the Prime Minister said. Grace
(16:18):
and Turkey, he said, are quote neighbors who need to
help each other through difficult times. This is not the
first time earthquakes have struck our countries. This is a
time to temporarily set aside our differences and try to
address what is a very, very urgent situation. He continued
to explain that in Syria, however, there is no official
person or official from the government to have a dialogue with,
(16:41):
and no assurance that aid will make it to the
impacted area and people, and that makes relief efforts hard
to pull off. No country on its own has the
ability to actually make these sort of arrangements. That's why
I think it is important that these negotiations could take
place either through the U N or through the European
Union by pulling resources. I would not feel confident having
(17:04):
these sort of discussions at a bilateral level. He also
added that he has not directly communicated with Damascus. He
went on to say that quote, I want to stress this,
this is not about geopolitics. This is not about recognizing
any sort of regime. This is about saving people and
horrible conditions who desperately need our assistance. So the scale
(17:25):
of aid being offered is going to require a large
coordination effort as well as delicate diplomatic maneuvers to supply
aid to Syria, where the leadership of A. Charles said
is not recognized in the West. It's not recognized for
me either, and many Syrians feel the same way. But
that is the monster that we are currently dealing with
and there's not much we can do about that at
(17:47):
this certain point in time. And so, as I mentioned,
the Syrian side of the border is going to be
a challenge since the worst affected areas contain hundreds of
thousands of Syrian refugees that are locked in a war
zone and still facing attacks from Syrian government forces. Aid
agencies reported that some of the roads from Turkey into
Syria were blocked, including the main cross border crossing used
(18:10):
by international aid agencies. The White Helmets said hundreds of
families were still trapped in the aftermath of the earthquake.
They also added that terrible weather conditions, including freezing temperatures,
had compounded the crisis, and they're continuing rescue operations in
Syria despite great difficulties in aftershocks, they said. The White
(18:31):
Helmets also urged the Assad regime and Russia to refrain
from military activity, and they affected areas in order to
allow international groups to unify and help the people affected.
A spokesperson from the White Helmets said, our teams responded
and until now many families are under the rubble. Our
teams are trying hard to find all the casualties. Northwest
(18:53):
Syria is now a disaster area. We need help from
everyone to save our people. I think this would be
a moment to take a little break. I don't have
the capacity or emotional bandwidth to think of a clever segue.
So here are some ads and we are back. We're
(19:23):
talking about the difficulty sending aid to Syria along the
Turkey Syrian border. Last month, actually, the UN Security Council
agree to allow aid into Northwest Syria from Turkey across
one border, crossing Bablahalla, surprising no one. The Syrian regime
has been resistant to allowing aid into a region serving
(19:45):
more than four million of its people because it regards
the aid as undermining Syrian sovereignty and reducing its chances
of winning back control of the region. Yes, that is correct.
The Syria government doesn't want to help more than four
million of its own people because one day it wants
to control them again. Are you fucking kidding me? I?
(20:11):
I don't understand that malignant desire to rule over a
land that you have destroyed, in a people that you
have murdered. I don't get the fucking point, but regardless,
that is one of the many reasons why getting aid
into Syria is going to be much more complicated than
(20:32):
getting aid into Turkey. Additionally, Mark Locock, the former head
of U and Humanitarian Affairs, said the area's worst affected
by the earthquake inside Syria look to be run by
the Turkish controlled opposition and not by the Syrian government.
It is going to require Turkish acquiescence to aid in
these areas. It is unlikely the Syrian government will do
(20:54):
much to help. Yes, Mark, I think you're right. The
Syrian government is and gonna do shit if anything. Said
is probably happy seeing all these people dying, because that's
his whole mmm, just to kill the Syrian people anyway.
A video from a hospital posted by the Syrian American
Medical Society showed that it was immensely crowded. They said,
(21:18):
our hospitals are overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways. There
is an immediate need for trauma supplies and a comprehensive
emergency response to save lives. And treat the injured. Initial
needs are for tens of thousands of tents, heaters for
the tents, tens of thousands of blankets, thermal clothes, ready
to eat food, and basic first aid kits. A unit
(21:40):
of representative in Aleppo said that the hospitals in Syria
are absolutely overloaded. Hospitals are full of patients with trauma,
broken bones and lacerations, and some people are going to
the hospital to seek help for the mental trauma they
endured after the earthquake struck, the UNSEAT representative Angela Kearney said,
and while hospitals are functioning, the task has been overwhelming.
(22:04):
Describing the scene in Aleppo when the earthquake struck on Monday,
Kearnie said, children who have already been traumatized by war
were bewildered. They didn't know what was happening. Kearnie said
that on Monday morning, when UNISEEF began its work in
the area, there were seven schools in Aleppo that are
being used as shelters. By Tuesday morning, that number grew
(22:26):
to sixty seven and currently it is nearly two hundred
and all of those schools that are partially damaged. There
are families there who left their apartments left their houses
with just their pajamas, she said. She also added that
while aid is starting to go into the affected areas,
there are still a desperate need for blankets, food, clean water,
(22:48):
medical care, and nutritional care. She said that water, sanitation
and nutrition needs are the most urgent. The aid is
starting to go in, but it is overwhelming. The needs
are very great. There are discussions under way to open
aid corridors from the government controlled parts of Syria to
the rebel held areas. Hammad Hammoud, Syria Country manager at
(23:10):
the Norwegian Red Cross, said that he hopes with the
help and efforts from humanitarian communities, this would happen in
the coming days, and he said currently nothing has moved there,
but there are discussions about moving aid and access to
these areas. He continued to say, after being asked if
the Syrian government in Damascus has been helpful to these areas,
(23:32):
he said they have stated that they are open to
cross line intervention, meaning from government held areas to these
non government held areas. They are open to it. They're
not doing ship though obviously. Earlier today, the head of
the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which described itself as an
independent and volunteer based humanitarian organization, said that the organization
(23:57):
is ready to immediately send aid convoys to rebel old areas,
including Islib through the u N. Hamoud added that the
humanitarian situation is worsening. He said we are in a
race against time. In describing the rescue and search operations,
Hamoud said that due to the lack of machinery, most
of the work on clearing the rubble is done by
(24:18):
hand and the cold weather conditions are not helping. He
also added that the buildings are already weakened because of
eleven years of war. In addition to the thousands of
people that have been lost to this tragedy, there are
also some cultural sites that have been permanently damaged in
both Turkey and Syria. UNESCO, the United Nations Cultural Organization,
(24:40):
said it's going to provide assistance following the cultural site damage.
UNESCO said that it is particularly concerned about the situation
in the ancient city of Aleppo, which is on the
list of World Heritage and Danger. It added that the
citadel had significant damage, the old city wall has collapsed,
and several building and the suits have been weakened. In
(25:02):
the Turkish city of Diyad Beka Unit School lamented the
collapse of several buildings. The city is home to the
World Heritage Site, the Yabucat of Fortress and the he
cl Gardens cultural landscape, which is an important center of
the Romans and Acid Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods. The
organization says it is mobilizing experts to establish a precise
(25:25):
inventory of the damage with the aim of rapidly securing
and stabilizing these sites. Aleppo was also one of the
city's worst damaged by the Syrian regime. It is a beautiful,
beautiful place. Everything that the regime has destroyed was a beautiful,
beautiful place. Aleppo had a lot of history, though, and
(25:47):
that region is just home to so much history, and
it's just really heartbreaking to know the extent of the
loss that doesn't just include lives. In talking to my
mom and my family about this, the sentiment seems like
it's the same that it's been for the past decade. Essentially,
(26:11):
Syrians don't have a government. There is no government. Assad
in his regime doesn't care about the Syrian people. My
mom literally said, we have no one we've known this
for years, no one helped us. Syrians are the ones
supporting each other. The White Helmets is a great example
(26:31):
of this. One of our family's friends on the ground
in the city of Hamma, which is where my mom
is from, was saying that it was absolute chaos. Everyone
is in the streets and no one is daring to
go back inside their homes. Another person was telling us
about his experience, and he said, I was asleep and
felt the earthquake start in my bed. My son was terrified,
(26:53):
and I went to hug my son. I kept telling
him it'll be over soon, It'll be over soon, and
then roof started crumbling on top of us. So then
he ran outside and he saw many people doing the same,
just running outside their homes if they were able to
make it out, and watching their homes just crumble in
front of them. Let's take a break, and when we
(27:16):
come back, I want to set the scene of what
Syrians have been going through even before this earthquake even happened,
and how sanctions in particular have made the impact of
this disaster exponentially worse. So we're back and we're going
(27:40):
to talk about how sanctions have only aided in the
suffering of the Syrian people twelve years after the eruption
of the Syrian Uprising and the subsequent conflict, The US
IS Syria policy has constrained political pressure on the Assad
regime to broad economic sanctions, but despite an expansive approach
(28:01):
that targets entire economic sectors, these sanctions have had little
to no effect in pushing the regime to offer political concessions,
engage meaningfully in a peaceful settlement of the conflict, or
improve its human rights record. All the while, conditions in
Syria have steadily worsened. As sanctions along with the destructive
effects of twelve years of conflict, the economic crisis and
(28:23):
neighboring Lebanon, and the COVID nineteen pandemic, all of this
has fueled an economic collapse that has left more than
nine percent of the population in Syria living in poverty.
In nineteen seventy nine, the United States listed Syria as
a state sponsor of terrorism, and since then it has
pursued sanctions as a primary tool in its policy towards Syria.
(28:48):
The George W. Bush administration issued a series of sanctions
under executive orders aiming to limit Syria's destabilizing influence in Iraq. However,
after the eleven uprising, the Barack Obama Mamma and Donald
Trump administrations sanctioned the Assad regime on an unprecedented scale
for its gross human rights violations against his people. These
(29:09):
sanctions ultimately accumulated in the passing of the Caesar Act
in twenty nineteen, and this allows primary and secondary sanctions
targeting both those who commit the sanctionable offenses and those
who enable them. Just three months ago, in November two,
a u when appointed independent human rights expert urge the
(29:30):
United States to lift the unilateral sanctions against Syria, warning
that they are perpetrating and exacerbating the destruction and trauma
suffered by ordinary citizens since the brutal war began in
This expert's name is Alana Dohan, and she said, I
am struck by the pervasiveness of the human rights and
(29:50):
humanitarian impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria
and the total economic and financial isolation of a country
whose people are strug ling to rebuild a life with dignity.
In a statement that followed her twelve day visit to Syria,
Dohan presented detailed information on the catastrophic effects that sanctions
(30:11):
have had on all aspects of Syrian life. Currently, serious
population is living below the poverty line, she said, pointing
to their limited access to food, water, electricity, shelter, cooking
and heating, fuel, transportation, and healthcare. Moreover, growing economic hardship
threatens to trigger a massive brain drain in the country,
(30:35):
she said, with more than half of the vital infrastructure
either completely destroyed or severely damaged, the imposition of unilateral
sanctions on key economic sectors, including oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction,
and engineering, have quashed national income and they undermined efforts
toward economic recovery and reconstruction. These sanctions have committed very
(31:00):
as human rights violations in their existence, including these serious
shortages and medicines and specialized medical equipment. My family and
I have direct experience with these repercussions of the lack
of medicines and medical equipment. My cousin, a child, had
(31:20):
brain cancer and it got worse and worse, and the
city they were in did not offer the treatment necessary
or even chemo to help his condition. So his mother
would drive to Damascus, where at least some of the
treatment options were available, but the road to Damascus, even
(31:42):
though it shouldn't take more than a few hours, can
sometimes take all day because there are so many checkpoints
and road closures and just the regime making it so
difficult to do anything. Ultimately, my cousin was suffering for
the anger of his very young life, and he didn't
(32:03):
get the treatment that he needed. And I really think
these sanctions have a lot to do with the lack
of access that my family and many families have in Syria.
And that experience that my family went through is one
of many that many Syrian families have endured because of
(32:25):
these sanctions. So I want you guys to keep that
in mind. That numbers also contain individual lives, and each
one is devastating all on its own. And I know
I say that often, but I think it bears repeating
every time. I don't want us to be numb to
(32:48):
statistics and numbers when it comes to casualties and suffering
and loss. And maybe it sounds obvious, but I just
think we need your remember the value of human life
and what it means to take it away. So that's
what I'm going to say about that. For now. Let's
(33:09):
get back to the reports that MS Dohan was showing
the US back in November two about the effect of
the sanctions, so including the impact that sanctions have had
on the serious shortages and medicines and specialized medical equipment
due to the unavailability of equipment and spare parts. She
warned that the rehabilitation and development of water distribution networks
(33:32):
for drinking and irrigation has stalled, with serious implications for
public health and food security. Twelve million Syrians are experiencing
food and security. This is pre earthquake. The number is
probably much higher now. Dohan urged for the immediate lifting
of all unilateral sanctions that severely harm human rights and
(33:54):
prevent any efforts for early recovery, rebuilding and reconstruction. She said,
no reference to good objectives of unilateral sanctions justifies the
violation of fundamental human rights. The international community has an
obligation of solidarity and assistance to the Syrian people. I
want to add something that UNICEF said about the children
(34:17):
in Syria. Children in Syria continue to face one of
the most complex humanitarian situations in the world. A worsening
economic crisis, continued localized hostilities after more than a decade
of grinding conflict, mass displacement, and devastated public infrastructure have
left two thirds of the population in need of assistance.
(34:39):
Water Borne diseases pose another deadly threat to children and
families affected. And all of this is again pre earthquake.
This is the life that Syrians have known for years
now without any assistance. Sanctions have done nothing but contribute
to the increase in the suffering of Assyrian people, and
(34:59):
now count treason organizations might have a hard time providing
aid because of these sanctions. Sanctions have done nothing but
contribute to the suffering and pain of the Syrian people.
They didn't do anything they were supposedly meant to do.
The Assad regime isn't going to change anything. It hasn't
(35:19):
changed anything. It's still killing its people. I also want
to mention that last year on May, the EU extended
its sanctions against the Syrian government for another year. Who
knows if this will change, but for now that's the reality.
So I'm really hoping these sanctions get eventually lifted or else.
(35:41):
Helping the Syrian people is going to be extremely difficult,
and right now rescuers are still digging through thousands and
thousands of flattened buildings, in near freezing temperatures. The death
toll is only going to continue to rise, and everyone
there needs all the help they can get. And I know,
(36:04):
at least for me, it feels really helpless. I've felt
pretty helpless for a long time when it comes to Syria.
But if you're able to donate any money at all,
I would really urge you to donate to a charity
that you trust. I really like the White Helmets because
they're just on the ground and they've been doing the
work for years. So if you're able to, I think
(36:26):
help can go a long way. I want to end
with something that Elena Dohan, the UN appointed independent human
rights expert that gave the US this report about the
sanctions in November. She quoted one view that she heard
expressed many times. She said, I saw much suffering, but
(36:48):
now I see the hope die. So that's where the
Syrian people started, that's where they've been. Nearly seventy of
the Syrian population was already in need humanitarian aid before
the earthquake even happened, and it's an issue that's only
been compounded by the tragedy today. The UN said quote,
(37:10):
this tragedy will have a devastating impact on many vulnerable
families who struggle to provide for their loved ones on
a daily basis. The statement outlined the impact of serious
twelve year war, describing a country as grappling with economic collapse,
severe water, electricity and fuel shortages. They issued an appeal
(37:30):
to all donor partners to provide assistance necessary to alleviate suffering.
The UN and humanitarian partners say they are currently focusing
on immediate needs including food, shelter and non food items
and medicine and the devastation of this earthquake because of
this is truly devastating. I cannot emphasize that enough. So again,
(37:54):
if you're able to donate, I really urge you to,
and if you can't, just keep raising awareness because as
someone else might be able to donate. And that's all
we really have for now. So that's the episode. I
hope it was informative or eye opening in any way.
Thank you for listening. I will talk to you later.
(38:19):
It could happen here as a production of cool Zone Media.
For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website
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happen here, Updated monthly at cool Zone Media dot com
slash sources. Thanks for listening.
Hello, and welcome to It could happen here. This is
Sharne and today I will be talking to you about
the series of devastating earthquakes that have happened in Turkey
and Syria this week. I am recording this the afternoon
of Tuesday, February seven. I am giving you that disclaimer
because the numbers keep changing as far as the casualties
(00:28):
and the death toll goes. So if the numbers are
different by the time this comes out, which they probably
will be, that is why. Unfortunately, that is the nature
of disasters like this. So there's nothing much that we
can do. But let's talk about the earthquakes themselves. First.
The initial earthquake was a magnitude of seven point eight
(00:50):
and it happened in southeastern Turkey early on Monday morning
their local time, and it was followed by magnitude seven
point five earthquake only nine hours later, amidst eeveral aftershocks.
All aftershocks are individual earthquakes, but as long as they
are not stronger than the original quake, they are considered
after shocks. But the seven point five magnitude tremor that
(01:13):
happened after the seven point eight one only point three
of a difference. It was an unusually strong aftershock. According
to seismologists, aftershocks are typically about one point to magnitude
units lower than the original earthquake, So if there was
a magnitude eight earthquake, the after shock would be in
magnitude seven. So this was all a very rare, disastrous occurrence.
(01:36):
The second earthquake was a shock notable all on its own,
as well as in relation to the primary earthquake. As
of Tuesday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey,
at least one and twenty five aftershocks measuring four point
zero or greater have occurred since the initial seven point
eight one. The frequency in magnitude of the aftershocks are decreasing,
(02:00):
as is expected as we get further out from the
time of the original earthquake. However, five point zero and
six point zero aftershocks are still possible, and they bring
a risk of additional damage to structures that are compromised
from the original earthquake. This brings a continued threat to
rescue teams and survivors. The aftershocks stretched for more than
(02:20):
four kilometers or about two fifty miles along the fault
zone that ruptured in southern Turkey. It stretches from the
Mediterranean Sea off the northern coast of Syria up to
the province of Malatia. The initial tremor was centered about
twenty miles from a major city and provincial capital, Gauzian Tepe,
and seismologists said that this first earthquake was one of
(02:43):
the largest ever recorded in Turkey's history. It was also
the region's strongest earthquake. In nearly a century nine, an
earthquake of the same magnitude killed thirty thousand people. Earthquakes
of this magnitude are rare, with fewer than five i've
occurring each year on average anywhere in the world. Seven
(03:03):
earthquakes with magnitude seven point zero or greater have struck
Turkey in the past twenty five years, but the one
that occurred on Monday it's the most powerful. The effects
were also felt in the neighboring countries of Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel,
and Egypt, to name a few. But there's a reason
white earthquakes are so frequent in Turkey. Turkey sits on
(03:24):
fault lines, and these earthquakes in the region have caused
deadly landslides in the past Turkey is situated on two
massive tectonic plates, the Arabian and the Eurasian, and these
meat underneath Turkey's southeastern provinces. Along this fault line, about
hundred miles from one side or the other, the earth slipped.
(03:46):
Seismologists refer to this event as a strike slip, where
the plates are touching and all of a sudden they
slide sideways. In a strike slip, the plates are moving
horizontally rather than vertically. This matters because the building don't
want to go back and forth, and then the secondary
waves begin to go back and forth as well. Because
(04:07):
of the nature of this seismic event, the aftershocks could
last for weeks and months. I have had to update
the death toll many many times in preparing this episode.
I am probably going to have to update it many
many more times before this comes out. But as of now,
(04:27):
when I am recording this the evening of Tuesday, February seven,
the death toll is over seven thousand and nine hundred
deaths in Turkey and Syria combined, and it's expected to
rise significantly more in Syria as these days go by.
The exact number that is being reported is seven thousand
(04:48):
nine hundred and twenty six people. The Syrian Civil Defense
a k a. The White Helmets said that the number
of fatalities and rebel held areas in northwest Syria rose
to a thousand, two hundred and twenty and the number
of injured people rose to two thousand, six hundred, and
these figures are expected to rise significantly due to the
presence of hundreds of families under the rubble. The White
(05:12):
Helmet said quote, our teams continue search and rescue operations
in difficult circumstances, and they described a tally of more
than four hundred collapsed buildings and more than one thousand,
three hundred partially collapsed buildings and thousands of others that
were damaged. Additionally, at least eight hundred and twelve deaths
have been confirmed in government controlled parts of Syria. In Turkey,
(05:34):
at least five thousand, eight hundred and ninety four people
are dead and thirty four thousand, eight hundred and ten
are injured. And this number is only going to continue
to rise. I don't know when it will stop. Maybe
a week from now, maybe a month. I don't know
how many more people will be unaccounted for and not
(05:55):
reported about but this is what we have for now.
You've probably seen pictures or videos of the devastation that
is happening. In all the destruction, there have been really
disturbing images of the ground literally just opening up in
two and as if you can see the core of
the earth. And other videos show the collapsed buildings and
(06:19):
the rubble that rescuers are trying to dig underneath to
find survivors. This is one story out of many, but
a newborn baby was reportedly rescued from the rubble in Syria,
and there is a video of this. A baby girl
was rescued from the rubble of her home. Her umbilical
cord was still attached to her mother when she was found,
(06:42):
and her mother is believed to have died after giving birth.
One of the men that found her said, we heard
a voice while we were digging. We cleared the dust
and found the baby with the umbilical cord intact, so
we cut it and my cousin took her to the hospital.
The girl is receiving treatment at a children's hospital and
as of now she is stable, but arrived with bruises, lacerations,
(07:05):
and hypothermia, and she's the sole survivor of her immediate family.
They lived in a five story apartment building that was
leveled by the quake. And again, this is one example
of the stories of thousands of people. And I think
what's important to remember is that even after someone is rescued,
they're not exactly home free. They can have many injuries
(07:28):
or hypothermia because it's very cold over there right now,
and their recovery is going to be brutal. And I
feel like that's a good thing to keep in mind
when you hear the word rescue, because the trauma doesn't
stop there. Almost six thousand buildings have been destroyed by
this earthquake, and this includes residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and
(07:49):
the damage is even more severe in northwestern Syria because
it had been in the process of attempting to reconstruct
itself since the Syrian War started in Thankfully, members of
the international community have stepped up to coordinate relief efforts
to Turkey and Syria after the powerful earthquakes. However, sending
aid to Syria is going to be difficult because there's
(08:12):
no central government to take care of the multi sectorial response.
The Turkish government said quote, we do not know where
the number of dead and injured can go. In Syria,
rescue workers used headlamps and floodlights to work throughout the night.
Many Syrian war refugees are also in the quake stricken
area of Turkey. Turkey has taken in three point six
(08:35):
million Syrian refugees, more than any other country, and this
is according to the u N Refugee Agency, which runs
one of its largest operations in Gaszian, Tepe, where the
first earthquake happened and again. Videos shared on social media
from Turkey and across the border in Syria have showed
destroyed buildings and rescue crews searching through piles of rebble
(08:57):
for survivors. Some people fled their homes in the rain
and took shelter in their cars, and governments around the
world quickly responded to Turkey's request for international assistance, many
of them deploying rescue teams and offers of aid, which
I will get into in a bit. The World Health
Organization warned that the number of casualties are likely to
(09:19):
increase as much as eight times as rescuers are finding
more victims in the rubble. Rescuers have been combing through
mountains of rubble and freezing and snowy conditions to find survivors,
and these freezing conditions will leave many people without shelter,
adding to the dangers. It is freezing over there, and
(09:41):
that obviously only makes things more difficult and more painful
and more complicated. And we always see the same thing
with earthquakes unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of
the numbers of people who have died or have been
injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows.
The situation on the ground seems to be more disastrous
(10:03):
in Syria, and this is according to the country director
in Ghazian Tepe for the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation.
He said, it's a disastrous situation in both Turkey and Syria,
although Syria is more disastrous. Over a decade of conflict
in Northern Syria has fostered a poor economic situation to
say the least, making it very difficult to respond to
(10:26):
the current crisis. In contrast, the situation in Turkey is
coordinated through a very well settled government and Northern Syria
unfortunately has no government that gives a shit about it.
In Northern Syria, most of the services and help are
provided by NGOs, and this is due to a long
term lack of investments in early recovery and infrastructure. One
(10:49):
of these groups again is the White Helmets. They were
one of the main saviors or helpers ever since the
Syrians Civil war started in eleven They have been on
the ground helping and they are made up of Syrian volunteers.
And I think that's important to keep in mind because
many Syrians have relied on each other and each other
alone because they didn't receive help in the past. And
(11:10):
I'm going to get into later how much the country's
civil war has made things exponentially worse. Several parts in
northwestern Syria, including the city of Islab, are still controlled
by anti government rebels. This representative added that they evacuated
to maturity hospitals because of the physical impact of the
earthquake on the infrastructure. And so the question is where
(11:34):
are these people going to go. There's no shelter, it
is freezing, and there's not enough aid to go around.
And I'm hoping the countries that have said they will
help are in the process of actually doing so. And
I'm going to get into some of them in a
moment because I'm grateful that there's help coming from somewhere.
(11:55):
And amongst all this, there have been calls to ease
the Syrian border restrictions and controls. Four countries to offer
their aid and again the rebel held on clave in
northwest Syria, across the border from Turkey, is among the
areas that have been hit the worst by this disaster.
International pledges, as I said, of emergency aid have poured
(12:16):
in for Turkey and Syria, leading to calls for the
international community to relax some of the political restrictions on
aid entering Northwest Syria. The Turkish President Aragon, who was
facing an election only a few months, said the offers
of aid to Turkey had come from forty five countries,
ranging from Kuwait to Israel, Russia and the UK. Syria
(12:37):
said it had received offers of help from China, Russia, Lebanon, Algeria,
and the United Arab Immirance. Aid from around the world
is thankfully heading towards Turkey and Syria, and some seventy
countries and fourteen international organizations have offered their assistance. Here's
a roundup of some of the latest pledges. There is
(13:00):
a Hungarian rescue team of fifty people, including five military
doctors and to search dogs. South Korea plans to offer
humanitarian aid worth five million to Turkey and send about
a hundred and ten disaster relief workers and military personnel
to support its search and rescue work. You may notice
that I'm only saying they're sending aid to Turkey and
(13:21):
a couple of these, and I will get into why
in a little bit, but to continue, the Palestinian International
Corporation Agency will deploy seventy experts to the quake later
this week, sending two crews comprised of the Civil Defense,
Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Red Cross. As well
as doctors and engineers. There are also teams from the
(13:43):
Palestinian Red Crescent and they are carrying out earthquake rescue
and relief operations and the Palestinian refugee camps and the
surrounding areas in Syria. At least three Palestinian refugee camps
in Syria were struck by the earthquake. Pakistan deployed to
content engines of emergency services to Turkey. China said it
(14:03):
will send about five point nine million dollars worth of
aid to Turkey, while also coordinating with Syria for emergency
supplies and accelerating ongoing food aid projects to Israeli aid
groups chartered a special flight to Gauzi and tep on
Tuesday to bring personnel and equipment to victims. Germany's Federal
Agency for Technical Relief is sending a team of fifty
(14:24):
recovery experts to Turkey. The Dalai Lama committed to sending
rescue and relief efforts early today, and Taiwan increased its
donation to Turkey from two hundred thousand to two million
dollars and it dispatched about a hundred and thirty rescue teams.
Indonesia also supplied aid for Turkey. The Vice President of
Indonesia highlighted the urgency of dispatching humanitarian aid to Turkey
(14:48):
to return the support granted by the country to Indonesia
during their times of need over natural disasters in the past.
Canada also pledged seven point five million dollars to earth
quake relief. Egypt offered relief assistance to Syria in the
wake of this earthquake. Ukraine will send eight seven emergency
staff workers to Turkey to assist with the relief efforts
(15:12):
and not just countries, but also companies and nonprofits have
offered their help. This week. For example, Amazon announced that
it will help the victims of Turkey earthquake by donating food, medicine,
and equipment from its Istanbul warehouse. Amazon has about two
thousand employees in Turkey, and in a statement on Monday,
(15:32):
it said that it activated its quote disaster relief capabilities
and was preparing to donate relief items including blankets, tents, food,
baby food, and medicines. Even here in the US, the
Virginia Task Force one is sending a crew of seventy
nine members and six dogs to Turkey, and there are
seventy eight members of the l A County Fire Department
(15:55):
who left Monday evening to Turkey. And then there's Greece,
who set aside tensions with Turkey to send aid. But
helping Syria, they said, is more complicated. Despite its tensions
with Turkey, Greece was among the countries that have dispatched
help to the country, but conflict torn Northwest Syria makes
the same efforts more complicated, the Prime Minister said. Grace
(16:18):
and Turkey, he said, are quote neighbors who need to
help each other through difficult times. This is not the
first time earthquakes have struck our countries. This is a
time to temporarily set aside our differences and try to
address what is a very, very urgent situation. He continued
to explain that in Syria, however, there is no official
person or official from the government to have a dialogue with,
(16:41):
and no assurance that aid will make it to the
impacted area and people, and that makes relief efforts hard
to pull off. No country on its own has the
ability to actually make these sort of arrangements. That's why
I think it is important that these negotiations could take
place either through the U N or through the European
Union by pulling resources. I would not feel confident having
(17:04):
these sort of discussions at a bilateral level. He also
added that he has not directly communicated with Damascus. He
went on to say that quote, I want to stress this,
this is not about geopolitics. This is not about recognizing
any sort of regime. This is about saving people and
horrible conditions who desperately need our assistance. So the scale
(17:25):
of aid being offered is going to require a large
coordination effort as well as delicate diplomatic maneuvers to supply
aid to Syria, where the leadership of A. Charles said
is not recognized in the West. It's not recognized for
me either, and many Syrians feel the same way. But
that is the monster that we are currently dealing with
and there's not much we can do about that at
(17:47):
this certain point in time. And so, as I mentioned,
the Syrian side of the border is going to be
a challenge since the worst affected areas contain hundreds of
thousands of Syrian refugees that are locked in a war
zone and still facing attacks from Syrian government forces. Aid
agencies reported that some of the roads from Turkey into
Syria were blocked, including the main cross border crossing used
(18:10):
by international aid agencies. The White Helmets said hundreds of
families were still trapped in the aftermath of the earthquake.
They also added that terrible weather conditions, including freezing temperatures,
had compounded the crisis, and they're continuing rescue operations in
Syria despite great difficulties in aftershocks, they said. The White
(18:31):
Helmets also urged the Assad regime and Russia to refrain
from military activity, and they affected areas in order to
allow international groups to unify and help the people affected.
A spokesperson from the White Helmets said, our teams responded
and until now many families are under the rubble. Our
teams are trying hard to find all the casualties. Northwest
(18:53):
Syria is now a disaster area. We need help from
everyone to save our people. I think this would be
a moment to take a little break. I don't have
the capacity or emotional bandwidth to think of a clever segue.
So here are some ads and we are back. We're
(19:23):
talking about the difficulty sending aid to Syria along the
Turkey Syrian border. Last month, actually, the UN Security Council
agree to allow aid into Northwest Syria from Turkey across
one border, crossing Bablahalla, surprising no one. The Syrian regime
has been resistant to allowing aid into a region serving
(19:45):
more than four million of its people because it regards
the aid as undermining Syrian sovereignty and reducing its chances
of winning back control of the region. Yes, that is correct.
The Syria government doesn't want to help more than four
million of its own people because one day it wants
to control them again. Are you fucking kidding me? I?
(20:11):
I don't understand that malignant desire to rule over a
land that you have destroyed, in a people that you
have murdered. I don't get the fucking point, but regardless,
that is one of the many reasons why getting aid
into Syria is going to be much more complicated than
(20:32):
getting aid into Turkey. Additionally, Mark Locock, the former head
of U and Humanitarian Affairs, said the area's worst affected
by the earthquake inside Syria look to be run by
the Turkish controlled opposition and not by the Syrian government.
It is going to require Turkish acquiescence to aid in
these areas. It is unlikely the Syrian government will do
(20:54):
much to help. Yes, Mark, I think you're right. The
Syrian government is and gonna do shit if anything. Said
is probably happy seeing all these people dying, because that's
his whole mmm, just to kill the Syrian people anyway.
A video from a hospital posted by the Syrian American
Medical Society showed that it was immensely crowded. They said,
(21:18):
our hospitals are overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways. There
is an immediate need for trauma supplies and a comprehensive
emergency response to save lives. And treat the injured. Initial
needs are for tens of thousands of tents, heaters for
the tents, tens of thousands of blankets, thermal clothes, ready
to eat food, and basic first aid kits. A unit
(21:40):
of representative in Aleppo said that the hospitals in Syria
are absolutely overloaded. Hospitals are full of patients with trauma,
broken bones and lacerations, and some people are going to
the hospital to seek help for the mental trauma they
endured after the earthquake struck, the UNSEAT representative Angela Kearney said,
and while hospitals are functioning, the task has been overwhelming.
(22:04):
Describing the scene in Aleppo when the earthquake struck on Monday,
Kearnie said, children who have already been traumatized by war
were bewildered. They didn't know what was happening. Kearnie said
that on Monday morning, when UNISEEF began its work in
the area, there were seven schools in Aleppo that are
being used as shelters. By Tuesday morning, that number grew
(22:26):
to sixty seven and currently it is nearly two hundred
and all of those schools that are partially damaged. There
are families there who left their apartments left their houses
with just their pajamas, she said. She also added that
while aid is starting to go into the affected areas,
there are still a desperate need for blankets, food, clean water,
(22:48):
medical care, and nutritional care. She said that water, sanitation
and nutrition needs are the most urgent. The aid is
starting to go in, but it is overwhelming. The needs
are very great. There are discussions under way to open
aid corridors from the government controlled parts of Syria to
the rebel held areas. Hammad Hammoud, Syria Country manager at
(23:10):
the Norwegian Red Cross, said that he hopes with the
help and efforts from humanitarian communities, this would happen in
the coming days, and he said currently nothing has moved there,
but there are discussions about moving aid and access to
these areas. He continued to say, after being asked if
the Syrian government in Damascus has been helpful to these areas,
(23:32):
he said they have stated that they are open to
cross line intervention, meaning from government held areas to these
non government held areas. They are open to it. They're
not doing ship though obviously. Earlier today, the head of
the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which described itself as an
independent and volunteer based humanitarian organization, said that the organization
(23:57):
is ready to immediately send aid convoys to rebel old areas,
including Islib through the u N. Hamoud added that the
humanitarian situation is worsening. He said we are in a
race against time. In describing the rescue and search operations,
Hamoud said that due to the lack of machinery, most
of the work on clearing the rubble is done by
(24:18):
hand and the cold weather conditions are not helping. He
also added that the buildings are already weakened because of
eleven years of war. In addition to the thousands of
people that have been lost to this tragedy, there are
also some cultural sites that have been permanently damaged in
both Turkey and Syria. UNESCO, the United Nations Cultural Organization,
(24:40):
said it's going to provide assistance following the cultural site damage.
UNESCO said that it is particularly concerned about the situation
in the ancient city of Aleppo, which is on the
list of World Heritage and Danger. It added that the
citadel had significant damage, the old city wall has collapsed,
and several building and the suits have been weakened. In
(25:02):
the Turkish city of Diyad Beka Unit School lamented the
collapse of several buildings. The city is home to the
World Heritage Site, the Yabucat of Fortress and the he
cl Gardens cultural landscape, which is an important center of
the Romans and Acid Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods. The
organization says it is mobilizing experts to establish a precise
(25:25):
inventory of the damage with the aim of rapidly securing
and stabilizing these sites. Aleppo was also one of the
city's worst damaged by the Syrian regime. It is a beautiful,
beautiful place. Everything that the regime has destroyed was a beautiful,
beautiful place. Aleppo had a lot of history, though, and
(25:47):
that region is just home to so much history, and
it's just really heartbreaking to know the extent of the
loss that doesn't just include lives. In talking to my
mom and my family about this, the sentiment seems like
it's the same that it's been for the past decade. Essentially,
(26:11):
Syrians don't have a government. There is no government. Assad
in his regime doesn't care about the Syrian people. My
mom literally said, we have no one we've known this
for years, no one helped us. Syrians are the ones
supporting each other. The White Helmets is a great example
(26:31):
of this. One of our family's friends on the ground
in the city of Hamma, which is where my mom
is from, was saying that it was absolute chaos. Everyone
is in the streets and no one is daring to
go back inside their homes. Another person was telling us
about his experience, and he said, I was asleep and
felt the earthquake start in my bed. My son was terrified,
(26:53):
and I went to hug my son. I kept telling
him it'll be over soon, It'll be over soon, and
then roof started crumbling on top of us. So then
he ran outside and he saw many people doing the same,
just running outside their homes if they were able to
make it out, and watching their homes just crumble in
front of them. Let's take a break, and when we
(27:16):
come back, I want to set the scene of what
Syrians have been going through even before this earthquake even happened,
and how sanctions in particular have made the impact of
this disaster exponentially worse. So we're back and we're going
(27:40):
to talk about how sanctions have only aided in the
suffering of the Syrian people twelve years after the eruption
of the Syrian Uprising and the subsequent conflict, The US
IS Syria policy has constrained political pressure on the Assad
regime to broad economic sanctions, but despite an expansive approach
(28:01):
that targets entire economic sectors, these sanctions have had little
to no effect in pushing the regime to offer political concessions,
engage meaningfully in a peaceful settlement of the conflict, or
improve its human rights record. All the while, conditions in
Syria have steadily worsened. As sanctions along with the destructive
effects of twelve years of conflict, the economic crisis and
(28:23):
neighboring Lebanon, and the COVID nineteen pandemic, all of this
has fueled an economic collapse that has left more than
nine percent of the population in Syria living in poverty.
In nineteen seventy nine, the United States listed Syria as
a state sponsor of terrorism, and since then it has
pursued sanctions as a primary tool in its policy towards Syria.
(28:48):
The George W. Bush administration issued a series of sanctions
under executive orders aiming to limit Syria's destabilizing influence in Iraq. However,
after the eleven uprising, the Barack Obama Mamma and Donald
Trump administrations sanctioned the Assad regime on an unprecedented scale
for its gross human rights violations against his people. These
(29:09):
sanctions ultimately accumulated in the passing of the Caesar Act
in twenty nineteen, and this allows primary and secondary sanctions
targeting both those who commit the sanctionable offenses and those
who enable them. Just three months ago, in November two,
a u when appointed independent human rights expert urge the
(29:30):
United States to lift the unilateral sanctions against Syria, warning
that they are perpetrating and exacerbating the destruction and trauma
suffered by ordinary citizens since the brutal war began in
This expert's name is Alana Dohan, and she said, I
am struck by the pervasiveness of the human rights and
(29:50):
humanitarian impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria
and the total economic and financial isolation of a country
whose people are strug ling to rebuild a life with dignity.
In a statement that followed her twelve day visit to Syria,
Dohan presented detailed information on the catastrophic effects that sanctions
(30:11):
have had on all aspects of Syrian life. Currently, serious
population is living below the poverty line, she said, pointing
to their limited access to food, water, electricity, shelter, cooking
and heating, fuel, transportation, and healthcare. Moreover, growing economic hardship
threatens to trigger a massive brain drain in the country,
(30:35):
she said, with more than half of the vital infrastructure
either completely destroyed or severely damaged, the imposition of unilateral
sanctions on key economic sectors, including oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction,
and engineering, have quashed national income and they undermined efforts
toward economic recovery and reconstruction. These sanctions have committed very
(31:00):
as human rights violations in their existence, including these serious
shortages and medicines and specialized medical equipment. My family and
I have direct experience with these repercussions of the lack
of medicines and medical equipment. My cousin, a child, had
(31:20):
brain cancer and it got worse and worse, and the
city they were in did not offer the treatment necessary
or even chemo to help his condition. So his mother
would drive to Damascus, where at least some of the
treatment options were available, but the road to Damascus, even
(31:42):
though it shouldn't take more than a few hours, can
sometimes take all day because there are so many checkpoints
and road closures and just the regime making it so
difficult to do anything. Ultimately, my cousin was suffering for
the anger of his very young life, and he didn't
(32:03):
get the treatment that he needed. And I really think
these sanctions have a lot to do with the lack
of access that my family and many families have in Syria.
And that experience that my family went through is one
of many that many Syrian families have endured because of
(32:25):
these sanctions. So I want you guys to keep that
in mind. That numbers also contain individual lives, and each
one is devastating all on its own. And I know
I say that often, but I think it bears repeating
every time. I don't want us to be numb to
(32:48):
statistics and numbers when it comes to casualties and suffering
and loss. And maybe it sounds obvious, but I just
think we need your remember the value of human life
and what it means to take it away. So that's
what I'm going to say about that. For now. Let's
(33:09):
get back to the reports that MS Dohan was showing
the US back in November two about the effect of
the sanctions, so including the impact that sanctions have had
on the serious shortages and medicines and specialized medical equipment
due to the unavailability of equipment and spare parts. She
warned that the rehabilitation and development of water distribution networks
(33:32):
for drinking and irrigation has stalled, with serious implications for
public health and food security. Twelve million Syrians are experiencing
food and security. This is pre earthquake. The number is
probably much higher now. Dohan urged for the immediate lifting
of all unilateral sanctions that severely harm human rights and
(33:54):
prevent any efforts for early recovery, rebuilding and reconstruction. She said,
no reference to good objectives of unilateral sanctions justifies the
violation of fundamental human rights. The international community has an
obligation of solidarity and assistance to the Syrian people. I
want to add something that UNICEF said about the children
(34:17):
in Syria. Children in Syria continue to face one of
the most complex humanitarian situations in the world. A worsening
economic crisis, continued localized hostilities after more than a decade
of grinding conflict, mass displacement, and devastated public infrastructure have
left two thirds of the population in need of assistance.
(34:39):
Water Borne diseases pose another deadly threat to children and
families affected. And all of this is again pre earthquake.
This is the life that Syrians have known for years
now without any assistance. Sanctions have done nothing but contribute
to the increase in the suffering of Assyrian people, and
(34:59):
now count treason organizations might have a hard time providing
aid because of these sanctions. Sanctions have done nothing but
contribute to the suffering and pain of the Syrian people.
They didn't do anything they were supposedly meant to do.
The Assad regime isn't going to change anything. It hasn't
(35:19):
changed anything. It's still killing its people. I also want
to mention that last year on May, the EU extended
its sanctions against the Syrian government for another year. Who
knows if this will change, but for now that's the reality.
So I'm really hoping these sanctions get eventually lifted or else.
(35:41):
Helping the Syrian people is going to be extremely difficult,
and right now rescuers are still digging through thousands and
thousands of flattened buildings, in near freezing temperatures. The death
toll is only going to continue to rise, and everyone
there needs all the help they can get. And I know,
(36:04):
at least for me, it feels really helpless. I've felt
pretty helpless for a long time when it comes to Syria.
But if you're able to donate any money at all,
I would really urge you to donate to a charity
that you trust. I really like the White Helmets because
they're just on the ground and they've been doing the
work for years. So if you're able to, I think
(36:26):
help can go a long way. I want to end
with something that Elena Dohan, the UN appointed independent human
rights expert that gave the US this report about the
sanctions in November. She quoted one view that she heard
expressed many times. She said, I saw much suffering, but
(36:48):
now I see the hope die. So that's where the
Syrian people started, that's where they've been. Nearly seventy of
the Syrian population was already in need humanitarian aid before
the earthquake even happened, and it's an issue that's only
been compounded by the tragedy today. The UN said quote,
(37:10):
this tragedy will have a devastating impact on many vulnerable
families who struggle to provide for their loved ones on
a daily basis. The statement outlined the impact of serious
twelve year war, describing a country as grappling with economic collapse,
severe water, electricity and fuel shortages. They issued an appeal
(37:30):
to all donor partners to provide assistance necessary to alleviate suffering.
The UN and humanitarian partners say they are currently focusing
on immediate needs including food, shelter and non food items
and medicine and the devastation of this earthquake because of
this is truly devastating. I cannot emphasize that enough. So again,
(37:54):
if you're able to donate, I really urge you to,
and if you can't, just keep raising awareness because as
someone else might be able to donate. And that's all
we really have for now. So that's the episode. I
hope it was informative or eye opening in any way.
Thank you for listening. I will talk to you later.
(38:19):
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