QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Major catastrophes are often occasions for countries to put an end to petty squabbles and stretch out a helping hand. Monday’s earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which has left over 8.000 people dead, seemed to be just such an occasion.
If Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had denounced European countries as “anti-Muslim and xenophobic” for a protests in Sweden at which a Quran had been burned only a week ago, he now welcomes a search and rescue team put together by 19 European countries. 1.155 rescuers and 27 dogs are being sent by the EU’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Assistance Operations body.
On a call on Monday, Erdogan thanked his Greek counterpart for the immediate dispatch of rescuers and aid supplies to Turkey. Last year, the Turkish president had threatened to invade the NATO member country over Greek islands whose sovereignty Turkey disputes.
The Prime Minister of Armenia, a country whose very existence is periodically threatened by its western neighbor, tweeted that his country, too, was ready to “provide assistance” to Turkey (as well as Syria).
Yet aid and rescue provision to Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of Monday’s deadly earthquake has not always been this straight-forward. More often than not, aid seems to be supplied not based on need, but on geopolitical interests instead.
Initial Cracks
The situation is particularly complicated in Syria, where the earthquake affected Syrian government-controlled areas, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) and Turkish-held territory, as well as the areas of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), in addition to Shahba regions in Aleppo northern countryside and Aleppine neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh (both are populated by Afrin people who fled in 2018 following a Turkish military operation). Damage was also recorded in areas held by the AANES, further to the east, though it remains minor.
International bodies have had a hard time organizing aid to all areas. The Bab al-Hawa border crossing, the only remaining aid border crossing in Syria to areas not controlled by the central government, has eased the transfer of aid supplies to HTS and Turkish-controlled parts of Syria. However, NGOs not already operating on the ground will find it challenging to send rescue teams into Syria.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said it is “assessing the situation in order to provide direct support to those most affected across Syria. A massive scale up is needed and our organization will be part of it.” Upon inquiry by Twitter users, the EU’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Assistance body said programs were in place to provide “water and sanitation support, blankets, hygiene kits, and undertaking search and rescue operations” in northern Syria, though their scope is unclear. INTERSOS, one of the EU’s main emergency response partners, says it has dispatched medical units to Ein Elkorum and Hamadaniyah, in government-controlled areas.
Today, the International Red Cross pledged $120 million for the Turkish Red Crescent and $80 million to the Syrian Red Crescent, a government-controlled group. It remains unclear whether the latter will also operate in opposition-held areas or not.
The North Atlantic Plate
Western countries offered immediate assistance to Turkey, though they have been loath to do the same for Syria, a country already in ruins after a 12-year-long war, crippled by sanctions, and currently weathering a currency crisis.
Unsurprisingly, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg tweeted that “NATO Allies are mobilizing support” for Turkey, but stayed mum on Syria. US President, Joe Biden called his Turkish counterpart in order provide “our NATO Ally Türkiye” with all needed assistance, but did not do the same for Syria. The president said that “US-supported humanitarian partners are also responding to the destruction in Syria,” though they will in all likelihood only be deployed in opposition-held territory.
Similarly, the UK said it would only supply aid to HTS and Turkish-controlled areas. Sweden and New Zealand defied the trend by pledging aid to the Syrian Red Crescent, which is under the control of the government.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was ready to send support to Turkey, adding on Twitter, “I express my sincere condolences to President Erdogan, the Turkish people and the families of the victims of the earthquake in the southeast of Turkey,” but neglecting to mention Syria. Damascus is among the few governments to have recognized Russia’s annexation of east Ukraine.
Unbridgeable Gulf
Gulf countries, too, politicized their aid. According to Al-Monitor, only the UAE pledged aid to both the Turkish and Syrian governments. The Emirati president called both heads of state, promising search and rescue teams, medical units, and field hospitals to Turkey, as well as rescue teams and “direct urgent humanitarian aid” worth $13.6 million to Syria. Within the Arab world, the UAE has pioneered rapprochement efforts with the Syrian government, as well as maintaining cordial ties with Turkey.
The Saudi Crown Prince and de-facto leader of the country, Mohammad bin Salman, called Erdogan to express his condolences. However, Saudi Arabia has so far not pledged any support for Turkey or Syria. Saudi Arabia’s government financed groups in opposition to Bashar al-Assad during Syria’s civil war and, until recently, has had a frosty relationship with Ankara.
Kuwait and Qatar pledged support for Turkey. The Qatari Charity, a state-funded group, also said it would send aid to opposition-held areas of Syria. Mirroring its close relationship with Ankara, Qatari relief efforts for Syria will be directed from a Turkey-based operations room. Both Kuwaiti and Qatari agencies have been involved in the construction of illegal settlements in Turkish-occupied Afrin.
Bahrain and Oman, the poorest and most disinterested countries of the pack, limited themselves to expressing their condolences to the presidents of both Syria and Turkey.
Friends of Syria
Despite calls to “UN member states, […] the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian groups” for support by Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, the government in Damascus has relied on the usual suspects for most relief efforts in its areas. Iran, Russia, Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon (as well as the UAE) have all promised or already sent boots on the ground. India has sent as well.
Putin is mobilizing some 300 military personnel already in the country to participate in rescue operations. The Russian president also pledged to send rescuers to Turkey, which reportedly was accepted by Erdogan. Despite being in opposite sides of the Syrian war, Ankara has become an important economic partner for Russia in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion.
Old enmities also came to the fore as Damascus “ridiculed and denied allegations” that it had asked Israel for aid. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Nentanyahu said on Monday that he had “approved” such a request, received by his government through backdoor diplomatic channels. “How can Syria ask for help from an entity that has killed […] Syrians for decades?,” a Syrian official reportedly said. Turkey, on the other hand, which despite previous support for the Palestinian cause is in the process of mending ties with the Jewish state, accepted Israel’s aid.
No Respite for Kurds
Despite itself being affected by the earthquake, albeit not as much as its neighbors, the AANES has offered to extend aid to the affected areas of northwest Syria. The Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, offered help to both the Syrian and Turkish people, though the call has so far gone unanswered.
Similarly, the Shahba region (north of Aleppo), which is largely populated by Kurdish IDPs from Turkish-occupied Afrin, said it would receive people seeking shelter from all areas. Shahba continues to be under embargo by the Syrian government, including for basic supplies. As if to make a point, Turkish-backed factions shelled its largest town, Tel Rifaat, last night.
The earthquake has also exposed important flaws in disaster response for northeast Syria. Where a similar catastrophe to befall Syria’s northeast, NGOs would face many more complications in providing aid, as there are no direct border crossings into the area. It would remain at the mercy of neighboring Turkey, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the Syrian government, all of which impose embargoes on northeast Syria.
If nothing else, Syria’s Kurds can take comfort in the thought that, at least momentarily, Turkey is unlikely to mount an invasion of their territory, as Erdogan has threatened to do for years.
Foreign Aid and Domestic Benefits
Yet, for all the push and pulls of international geopolitics, foreign aid remains a domestic issue for the Turkish government. As a piece in The Economist argues, the mishandling of an earthquake near Istanbul in 1999 cost the government its position and catapulted Erdogan’s AKP party to power in 2002.
Cracks have also appeared in the current government’s disaster response, as rescue teams have only begun operations belatedly. Erdogan’s amnesty on unregistered construction, argues The Economist, may also have had something to do with the current catastrophe.
With only months before elections, what Erdogan does, or is seen to be doing by voters, may be decisive in his re-election. Any foreign aid that can help in containing the catastrophe – whether from blasphemous Europeans or former foes – will be welcomed by Ankara.