As the devastating death toll from the Syria and Türkiye earthquakes continue to rise above 41,000, the Australian government has announced a further injection of $8 million to the two impacted countries to assist those most vulnerable and support ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.
The government has already committed $3 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), while $15 million has been distributed to partner agencies to assist conflict-affected people in Syria and their host communities in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Closer to home, UNHCR Australia, the national partner of the UN Refugee Agency, has been increasing its efforts to raise money to help those in Syria and Türkiye.
Lisa Upton, UNHCR Australia’s Head of Communications, told Women’s Agenda the organisation has been overwhelmed by the generosity of Australians over the past week.
“We have more than 100,000 donors here in Australia, who are very generous, and we are in touch with all of them on a regular basis, updating them on the situation,” she said.
“It can feel overwhelming when you look at the number of people who have died and the number of people who need help, but every dollar counts. As little as $35 can provide a warm winter coat, gloves and boots for somebody in Türkiye.”
As a national partner of UNHCR raising awareness about UN agencies work, Upton’s team also raise funds to help those in crisis, like the situation in Syria and Türkiye.
“UNHCR is on the ground in both countries, delivering emergency aid to people and items of aid,” she said. “Things like mattresses and thermal blankets and tents and hygiene kits which contain soap and shampoo and washing powder, sanitary napkins and toothbrushes.”
“Thousands and thousands of emergency supplies have been flown in… thermal blankets, tents, things like that to Türkiye, and we’re constantly updating our supporters on what’s going on.”
Since they launched their earthquake appeal, they have continued to work very closely with UNHCR colleagues on the ground, getting the latest information daily.
“We send them the money raised to UNHCR, they send it to our teams on the ground who are assessing what’s going on, and then they spend that money where it’s most needed.
For Aylin Salt, a Turkish-Australian whose extended family are based in Türkiye’s largest city Istanbul, watching the horror from Sydney has been shattering.
“Everybody is so affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye,” she told Women’s Agenda. “It’s kind of like, you can’t be too happy because you know your family’s saved but there’s so many others affected by the earthquake.”
“The number is over 40,000 deaths now and they are increasing, it’s very sad and tragic. I have friends whose family is in Gaziantep or Iskenderun, as well, which is one of the most affected areas and one of my friends has lost her cousins.”
Salt, who works in the partnerships and philanthropy team at UNHC, had family members affected by the 1999 İzmit earthquakes, which killed over 17,000. The impact is still raw.
“It was horrendous and very traumatic,” she said. “For people who live in Istanbul to hear about these latest earthquakes, is quite stressful as well because they’re predicting another earthquake in Istanbul in the next seven years. Everyone’s psychology is pretty much affected.”
“I can’t imagine what the people who are now in this earthquake how they feel. You hear about these amazing stories how children are pulled out from the earthquake, but then have lost their parents and relatives. I can’t imagine the psychological trauma to be in that sort of situation.”
Salt is staying in touch with her family via WhatsApp, hearing from them about the doctors flying into those areas most effected, volunteering their help.
“All the communities are trying their best,” she said.
Universities in the area have shifted online, according to Salt, while the government is trying put earthquake victims who have lost their homes into university dorms.
“Some people have opened their homes to students to actually stay with them,” she said. “There’s a lot of community unity going on at the moment.”
The devastation of the earthquake last week is still something Turkish-Australian Kader Kurt is struggling to comprehend.
Kurt’s family reside in her hometown of Iskenderun, as hopes fade of finding survivors amid freezing temperatures.
“My initial reaction was, what’s happened to our loved ones in our hometown?” Kurt told Women’s Agenda. “I spoke to my sister on the phone and we knew something was wrong but we weren’t sure how big it was.”
“Then my response was — oh, we’ll have to fly there. But it was blocked because of the scale of the disaster. It’s a Biblical lost — it was the whole city — the villages, buildings, everything’s collapsed. It was like we were in a movie or something. We were just crying, basically.”
Kurt said those who have survived in the city remain very scared.
“I have very, very close friends — and their loved ones who are still missing,” she said. “I don’t know anyone who hasn’t lost someone.”
Kurt said that being in Australia while her family endures the terror is ‘horrible’.
“I feel helpless and hopeless, because I just want to be there. There were so many people we couldn’t reach because there was no phone coverage and there was few footage of what was happening in my city.”
In Australia, Turkish families have been organising small scale fundraising through Facebook and WhatsApp. Local communities have gathered to support one another.
“Restaurants and businesses are doing little fundraisers,” Salt said.
“One of the restaurateurs did a street food fundraiser, and everybody’s doing their best to do some fundraising, or starting a WhatsApp group, getting their friends together to do more fundraising. Everyone is really working hard to help each other in the best way they can from such a distance.”
For Salt, the sense of helplessness is propelling her to raise more money.
“It’s even more stressful to be so far away and feel that you can’t do anything. You know, all you can do is send money or go to a fundraiser. Everybody is just trying whatever they can do to help.”
Salt encourages people to donate to UNHCR, where they can also get up-to-date information about the earthquake.
“UNHCR is one of the most experienced organisations to donate to because people know we are the experts and we do it professionally.”
You can make your donations here.