Gulf countries continue support for Turkiye, Syria quake victims

After raising $385 million in donations for quake victims in Turkiye and Syria, Gulf countries continued their relief campaigns to raise more funds and collect humanitarian aid, Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.

Eight days after two deadly earthquakes hit Turkiye and Syria, the Gulf countries raised around $385 million for the quake victims.

The donation campaigns continued, and more money was raised by officials and people in the Gulf region.

Saudi Arabia

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre launched a donation campaign on 8 February with the participation of more than 1,545,000 people, according to data released by the Saudi government’s Sahem Platform, responsible for the popular campaign for the relief of the quake victims in the two countries.

A total of $100.8 million has been collected for the quake victims as part of the popular donation campaign until Friday.

Saudi Arabia sent ten aid flights to Turkiye and two to Syria as part of an air relief bridge, dropping hundreds of tonnes of aid material, food parcels and medical equipment.

The Kingdom sent a rescue team of 95 members and a medical team of 55 paramedics to look for survivors under the rubble.

READ: Turkiye quake survivors struggle to bury their dead

Qatar

Qatar launched “Oun w Sanad” (Support and Help) campaign on 10 February by the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities and the Qatar Media Corporation for the quake victims in Turkiye and Syria.

The campaign collected around 168 million Qatari riyals ($46 million) on its first day, including 50 million riyals ($14 million) from Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.

The Qatar Red Crescent allocated $1 million from the Disaster Response Fund for urgent relief and launched a humanitarian campaign to collect donations worth $10 million to expand the scope of relief intervention.

Qatar Charity also said it would deliver six million riyals ($1.6 million) in the first phase of aid for the quake victims, according to the state news agency Qatar News Agency.

The charity also said it is preparing a plan worth 21.9 million riyals ($5.77 million), which includes an urgent response worth 7.3 million riyals ($2 million) and early recovery and reconstruction projects worth 14.6 million riyals ($4 million).

Qatar’s aid flights reached 30, dropping 600 tonnes of humanitarian and medical aid until Thursday. Out of 10,000 mobile housing units, Qatar has already shipped 650 units.

It sent a rescue team of 110 members, four search-and-rescue dogs and a 25-member medical team.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE)

After the earthquakes, President of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan ordered the provision of $100 million for relief to those affected by the quake disaster.

UAE Vice-President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum also directed urgent humanitarian aid to the Syrian people at a value of 50 million dirhams ($13.6 million).

On 9 February, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak ordered the provision of 50 million dirhams ($13.6 million) to support the “Bridges of Good” campaign for quake victims.

The campaign was officially launched on 11 February and is planned to last for two weeks to collect donations.

On 10 February, Al-Ansari Exchange, a leading foreign exchange company, announced its donation of 3.67 million dirhams ($1 million) to support relief efforts.

On 11 February, Mubadala Investment Company announced its donation of the proceeds from the tickets for the final and semi-finals of the “Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open” tennis tournament for women to the “Bridges of Good” campaign.

READ: UAE minister calls for more earthquake support during visit to Turkey

Kuwait

On 9 February, the Kuwaiti cabinet announced the donation of $30 million to alleviate the human suffering of those affected.

And on 11 February, several ministries in the Gulf country, including the Ministry of Social Affairs, launched a one-day donation campaign. The campaign collected more than 20.7 million dinars ($67.7 million), with the participation of more than 129,000 donors.

Bahrain

Bahrain announced the launch of a national donation campaign on 9 February.

A day earlier, Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the king’s representative for Humanitarian Works and Youth Affairs, invited donations as part of the campaign.

Oman

On 7 February, the Omani Authority for Charitable Activities launched initiatives to collect donations and aid. On the same day, the Omani Dar Al-Atta’a Association started a campaign to collect donations.

According to the local Al-Shabiba newspaper, the campaign by the Dar Al-Atta’a Charity Association collected around $650,000 in the first two days of its launch.

Since the earthquake disaster, 16 Arab countries officially announced the launch of air bridges and the provision of urgent relief and medical aid to support Turkiye, according to official statements.

The countries include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Algeria, Jordan, Bahrain, Libya, Tunisia, Palestine, Iraq, Mauritania, Sudan and Oman.

READ: After devastating quake, thousands of Syrians return home to war zone