Aid for earthquake-striken Türkiye and Syria follows countries’ politics

With the death toll increasing in the earthquake-striken Türkiye and Syria, the offer of humanitarian assistances from other countries appeared to be distributed according to political alliances.

The West, South Africa and Israel have sent humanitarian teams to Türkiye, while Russia, China and most of Africa and Arab nations dispatched their rescuers to Syria. However, China sent another team to Türkiye on Wednesday, with two SA nongovernmental organisations following suit.

Death toll

According to the latest figures from the Anadolu Agency, the official news agency in Türkiye, more than 9 000 people were killed and over 52 000 injured after two strong earthquakes on Monday jolted the southern part of the country.

The Anadolu Agency said more than 100 000 rescuers are working in 10 provinces of Türkiye that were affected by the quake.

The rescuers reportedly included a team from South Africa’s Gift of the Givers, which left on Monday, while a team from Hope SA Foundation arrived in Istanbul and was immediately dispatched to Gaziantep province to help.

On Monday, Israel dispatched a significant search-and-rescue group to south eastern Türkiye, with Israeli Defence Force members rescuing a girl trapped in a building ceiling. The Israelis were also establishing a field hospital.

Also on Monday, the warn-ravage Ukraine pledged its support to Türkiye.

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A tweet posted by the Ukrainian embassy in Pretoria said: “We feel and share this unbelievable pain caused by today’s tragic earthquake. Our thoughts are with the victims’ families and we pray for the injured to recover quickly. Ukraine is ready to send a group of rescuers to assist – Ukrainian authorities are already working with the Turkish side to coordinate their deployment.”

China aids Türkiye and Syria

While China had sent teams to both Türkiye and Syria, Taiwan sent their first team to the Türkiye on Monday. The Taiwan office in Pretoria said “Taiwan is willing to do something and can do something”.

Taiwan also increased its donation to Türkiye to $2 million (about R35 million). “As damage reports have come in and the death toll continues to rise, the government of the Republic of China [Taiwan] decided to increase its donation,” the ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.

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The government has also established several special bank accounts to facilitate donations from private citizens to help disaster relief in Türkiye.

In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, the Turkish Trade Office in Taipei said that individuals wanting to send in-kind assistance to people in Turkey affected by the quake can contact the office.

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