People all over the world have been wonderful in their solidarity with the victims of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. But such disasters need more than the magnificent efforts of ordinary people. It needs tangible steps by states with real outcomes.
What breaks our hearts is that some of the worst affected people in the war and previous devastation in Syria, Syrian refugees in Turkey, as well as the people of Turkey who were most generous to Syrian refugees are the victims of this disaster.
What a tragedy in a region with a history of so much hurt.
So far, nearly 20,000 dead and 60,000 injured. These numbers will increase.
But there is much that could be done. Here are some of these:
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Lift all sanctions on Syria. Allow Syrian and other people in Europe to send money to their relatives.
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Don’t worry, your planes won’t be shut down. Organise airdrops of supplies to affected areas in Syria.
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Process family reunification applications of Syrians settled in European states. Don’t worry they won’t take your homes, their family members will look after them.
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Allow Syrians in various refugee camps and refugee centres in Europe to go back to their hometowns in Syria (if they want to) to help their relatives and guarantee their re-admission when they can come back.
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Force European pharmaceutical corporations to provide essential medicine to Syria and Turkey.
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Some of the dead and injured in Turkey are Syrian and other refugees. The region hit by the earthquake is home to tens of thousands of refugees who are in a precarious situation. Their temporary home in Turkey is gone. Their homes back in Syria are gone. Restart a safe refugee admission program.
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Stop all deportations back to Syria and Turkey. It is estimated 300,000 Syrians will be internally displaced, yet again. Many more people in Turkey will be forced to relocate to other parts of the country.
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Support the opening of the Syria-Turkey border. Like in the days when people could cross freely.