Germany to double relief aid to earthquake survivors in Turkiye, Syria

Germany has announced that it will double its relief aid to Turkiye and Syria for the survivors of the deadly earthquakes that hit the border region on 6 February.

“We want to make it clear that we, as a global community, see this catastrophe and we support the population,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a visit to southeast Turkiye yesterday.

Germany will give an additional $53 million to the two countries, with $33 million for Turkiye and $17 million for northern Syria.

The death toll for the two countries stands at over 47,000, with thousands more injured and homes destroyed.

At the beginning of this week Medicins San Frontieres (MSF)made an urgent call for assistance for the people of northwest Syria, where people are sleeping in schools, sports halls and mosques.

The medical charity called for the immediate scale up of assistance in particular shelters and medical supplies.

READ: US pledges further $100m aid to Turkiye, as Ankara urges the lifting of sanctions

Baerbock also said that the Syrian regime “continues to obstruct the efforts of the United Nations,” even though crossings had now been opened and Germany is trying to get in as much aid as possible.

At a press conference in New York yesterday, the UN secretary general said three crossings were open to deliver aid to northwest Syria.

Last week, Germany announced that it was offering temporary, three-month visas to anyone who was affected by the earthquakes so that they could stay with relatives. At the time Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that “we want to allow Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to bring their close relatives from the disaster area to their homes without bureaucracy.”

However, the visa scheme has been criticised because applicants need a valid passport and biometric photo which is hard as so many homes have been destroyed by the earthquakes.

Around 924,000 Syrians have lived in Germany since they were welcomed into the country at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015. Around three million people of Turkish origin live in Germany.