Several days after the cataclysm in Turkey and Syria, the international response in the Idleb region is inadequate and not up to the scale of the disaster. Dr Ziad Alissa, President of Mehad and Prof Raphael Pitto wrote this open letter to the President of the Republic published on Monday 13 February in the Libération newspaper calling for large-scale international aid. Professor Pitti spoke to France Inter on Tuesday 14 February.
What is international aid doing in Syria after the earthquake?
“It is with a deep sense of outrage that we, the humanitarian doctors who have been working in Syria for 12 years, are asking for your commitment.
The earthquake in Turkey and Syria is an unprecedented cataclysm. The international response is inadequate and does not match the scale of the disaster.In the north-west of Syria, the already martyred populations have literally been abandoned to their fate. 7 days after the tremor and its aftershocks, the first-aid workers, carers and humanitarian organisations, the only ones to act on the ground, have received no support from the international community and the United Nations, which has not declared an emergency. They have not grasped the scale of the devastation caused by this appalling earthquake.
We ask you, Mr President, as a member of the United Nations Security Council, to table a resolution to extend the Bab Al-Hawa humanitarian corridor for a year and to reopen a second humanitarian corridor at Bab Al-Salam, which is vital to the survival of the Syrian people. Extract from the forum
The full article:
Copyright @MohamedDaaboul
Since our forum, an announcement has been made of the opening of two new humanitarian corridors. The international response remains unsatisfactory.
“Following this announcement, it is imperative that the opening of the humanitarian corridors be a decision of the United Nations, and that these crossing points be under the sole control of the international community, which is the only guarantor that humanitarian aid can reach the people of north-western Syria. We can only regret the slowness of this late decision, which should have been taken the very next day. At this stage, it is still very inadequate and inappropriate in the face of the cataclysm represented by this earthquake. With the current extreme cold, a large-scale international response is needed and must be deployed without further delay. With more than 7 days to go before the earthquake, the people of Idleb are being left to fend for themselves and must be supported as quickly as possible.”
Prof. Raphaël Pitti, Mehad humanitarian doctor (Ex-UOSSM France)
“In our letter to the international community, we also called for an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of a mobile hospital on the Syrian-Turkish border to help treat victims in north-western Syria. We are calling for the entry of medical teams to reinforce and support our colleagues in the hospitals and health centres who are exhausted by several days of continuous work.”
Dr Ziad Alissa, President Mehad (Ex-UOSSM France)
“The needs are immense and urgent. Everything is in short supply. To help the victims, the humanitarian organisations present in the Idleb region need shelter equipment (tents, blankets, heating, hygiene kits), medical equipment, consumables, oxygen concentrators, acute dialysis systems and medicines.”
Prof. Raphaël Pitti, Mehad humanitarian doctor (Ex-UOSSM France)
Our emergency response:
- With 90 euros: Distribution of a food basket for one week
- With 350 euros: Shelter for a family of 4. Provision of tents, heating equipment, blankets and a food basket for a week.
- With 200 euros: Renewal of our mobile clinics for earthquake survivors. One day of consultations in our mobile clinics, which criss-cross the Idleb region, the hardest hit by the earthquake.
