Gaziantep, February 6th - Syria Relief, and its parent NGO Action For Humanity, has accused the world of putting the suffering of Syrians “on the back burner” one year on from the earthquake. The UK’s largest Syria-focused aid agency has highlighted that Syrians are still suffering from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which caused death and destruction a year ago today, and 13-years of unrelenting conflict.
Of the 4.5 million people living in Northwest Syria, 4.1 million are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance, 3.7 million are food insecure, 2.9 million are internally displaced within Syria and 2 million are living in IDP camps. These needs have been created by the conflict which has been ongoing since March 2011 and has been exacerbated by the February 6th 2023 earthquake and, as Syria Relief and Action For Humanity claim, the world’s apathy towards the reality on the ground in Northwest Syria.
Othman Moqbel, the CEO of Action For Humanity and its subsidiary Syria Relief, says:
“The world is always very quick to forget. Prior to the earthquake, the world had completely forgotten that Syrians were enduring a humanitarian crisis. Then the earthquake tore through Northwest Syria and Southern Turkiye a year ago today and everyone sat up and took notice. This lasted weeks. Then, the world got distracted and has paid no attention as Syrians are once against getting dragged down in the spiral of growing humanitarian needs.
“There are families who have been displaced multiple times by disasters, both political and natural, children who are now becoming teenagers who have never lived in a home. Families conditioned to expect that where they are living may be destroyed by conflict or natural disaster at any moment.
Over 2 million people displaced – living in a permanent sense of transience. Knowing where they are is not home for them, but there is no realistic avenue to ever get home.
“Cholera has routinely broken out due to poor access to water, malnutrition and stunted growth of children is commonplace. Multiple families have to share shelter, all families have to share a common trauma. A conflict with no signs of stopping and a humanitarian crisis with no signs of slowing down. There is no worse place that this earthquake could have struck.
“In Northwest Syria, food is hard to buy, livelihoods are even more difficult to acquire, but acknowledgment from the rest of the planet is close to impossible to find. The international community has allowed the plight of Syrians in Idlib, Aleppo and across the country to be moved to the back burner, whilst it deals with other problems. The world has decided that Syrians must accept something no one else would find acceptable.
“Where the international community was quick to look away, where calls for help were ignored and forgotten, the Syrian people stood up. Women in Northwest Syria broke social taboos and led the relief efforts, finding new roles and raising their profiles in their communities – a freedom that may erode again without any stronger interventions that capitalise on this advantage.
“We are calling on you, the public, to recall how you felt 12 months ago to this day when you saw the devastation that has ripped through war-torn Syria. More must be done to fix the damage. The needs have not gone away, only the rest of world has.
“We ask the public to donate to www.actionforhumanity.org to help meet the growing needs of Syrians.”
Action For Humanity and Syria Relief’s response:
Within 4 hours, Action For Humanity had mobilised to support our own teams in accessing safe housing and emergency assistance. In this way, we were well placed to provide relief to over 500,000 people.
After more than a decade of serving beneficiaries in Northwest Syria and supporting communities to build their own capacity for emergency relief, Action For Humanity was recognised in the fallout of the earthquake as the leading responder to the disaster.
Operating in crisis zones, we are unfortunately all too familiar with being the target of devastation.
We lost colleagues and families members in the rubble. There is no replacement for a life taken too soon; all we can do is ensure their legacy lives on in our determination to see a more resilient future.
In the months following this heartbreaking chapter, we have unveiled our Massa Village housing project in Northwest Syria. The village serves 500 families and will offer a sustainable housing solution to thousands who were impacted by the earthquake.
Massa village is named in memory Massa Al-Najjar; the niece of one of our colleagues, and is a daily reminder to us all of why continue our work.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITOR
ABOUT ACTION FOR HUMANITY/SYRIA RELIEF
Action For Humanity provides aid and assistance to people affected by natural and man-made disasters. We are the parent charity of Syria Relief, the UK’s largest Syria-focused humanitarian aid organisation. As an NGO we are guided by our drive to help others, not profit. Based in Manchester,
Action For Humanity has operations in Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, the UK, and several other regions. We have operated throughout Syria for over a decade, responding to crises and developing communities. In 2022, Action For Humanity supported a remarkable 4.8 million people across the globe.
PRESS CONTACTS
Jake Marais PR and Communications Officer, Action For Humanity jacob.marais@actionforhumanity.org 07597 486270