‘Get us out!’
Across the border, in Syria, relief efforts have been hampered by a civil war that has torn apart the country and divided regional and global powers.
Although a single border from Turkey to Syria was open after the earthquake, the United Nations did not send aid for several days, citing logistical issues.
“The situation is really sad,” said Abdulrahman Mohammed, a displaced Syrian originally from the neighboring province of Aleppo, in Idlib in the country’s northwest, where many have taken refuge from other war-torn provinces over the past decade.
Parts of the provinces of Idlib and nearby Aleppo, held by Turkish-backed rebels, accounted for the bulk of the earthquake’s casualties in Syria: more than 4,400 of the 5,800 killed, according to the United Nations and government officials.
“Someone who’s working as a laborer and renting a house…if you need $10 a day in living expenses and you can barely make ends meet – that’s how you should rebuild ?” said Mohammed, originally from Aleppo.
On Tuesday, eight days after the earthquake, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad opened a second border crossing for aid deliveries after giving his consent, marking a shift for Damascus, which has long handled cross-border aid deliveries to the rebel enclave. have opposed.
But the trucks did not contain any of the heavy equipment and machinery that rescuers say they need to move the wreckage faster – and that could have helped rebuild.
“What happened to us – it’s the first time around the world. There was an earthquake and the international community and the United Nations didn’t help,” said Raed Saleh, who is working with the opposing ‘White Helmets’ rescue force. organized areas.
