November 6, 2023
News
It has been 9 months since the catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on 6th of February, claiming the lives of nearly 60,000 people. To this day, a large number of the affected people are still living in temporary shelters because they have nowhere to return to. Help is still very much needed. Caritas Czech Republic continues to help people affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Help is still needed
"Our house was completely destroyed in the earthquake. We were afraid to return to it because more tremors kept occurring. I hope we never have to experience such fear and horror again," says 48-year-old Songül outside a temporary container shelter in the town of Malatya in central-eastern Turkey. Malatya was among the areas that were hit the hardest by February's earthquake. The devastation in the city is still evident today, with shattered buildings, rubble and empty areas where houses stood just a few months ago.
A temporary container town, where Songül and her husband currently reside, has been built on the outskirts of Malatya. Although the container town is well-organised and has its own bus stop, it lies in the middle of an open space, in direct sunlight, with nowhere to hide. Children play on piles of gravel because they have nowhere else to entertain themselves. Caritas Czech Republic will also focus on this, as it plans to build a playground in the area.
The container town we visit is now home to 1,100 people. In the whole Malatya area, more than 100,000 people still remain in temporary shelters. In the whole of Turkey, there are up to 400,000 people who have lost their homes and have nowhere to return to.
"People will have to stay in temporary shelters for at least two to three more years. There are hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their homes and it will take time to provide new housing for all of them. Help is, therefore, still very much needed," says Rukas Ibrahim, country director at Caritas Czech Republic in Turkey and Syria.
Caritas Czech Republic continues to help people affected by the earthquake. At the end of October, we distributed hygiene kits to people staying in containers in Malatya. Hygiene kits are very much needed in the makeshift conditions, especially to ensure decent hygiene for the locals and to prevent the spread of diseases. In total, we handed out 1,200 hygiene kits. T-Mobile and donors to the Caritas for Turkey and Syriaappeal contributed to providing these kits.
"We really appreciate your help. We are glad that we have not been forgotten," thanks Songül.
We have been helping since day one
Caritas Czech Republic started helping people affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria immediately after the earthquake. In cooperation with our partners, we distributed food aid packages, hygiene kits and other material aid. In the Turkish province of Hatay, we provided vulnerable families with temporary shelter in containers with sanitation facilities.
In February, when the earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, low temperatures prevailed in the area. We therefore distributed warm clothing to the affected people, as well as tents, thermal blankets and fuel to safely survive the winter.
In the affected areas, Caritas Czech Republic helped to provide sanitation facilities by setting up toilets and showers to prevent the spread of diseases. We also provided much-needed psychological support to people affected by the earthquake to help them cope with the trauma caused by the devastating tremors.
In collaboration with our partner organisation Violet, we have managed to create a network of NGO volunteers in Syria, whom we have trained to work in the humanitarian and development sector. This cooperation proved its worth in the first hours after the devastating earthquake. Thanks to the cooperation established with a number of volunteers and the knowledge that the Syrian organisations gained from Caritas Czech Republic, their members and volunteers were able to immediately get involved in helping the people affected by the earthquake. Thanks to this, help reached many more people in a much shorter time. 62 civil society organisations trained by Caritas Czech Republic and Violet were involved in the immediate post-earthquake relief efforts in Syria.
We continue helping people affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria thanks to donors who have contributed to our fundraising appeal Caritas for Turkey and Syria. We are also helping thanks to funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the European Union.
