Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to It could happen here. This is
Speaker 1: Sharne and today I will be talking to you about
Speaker 1: the series of devastating earthquakes that have happened in Turkey
Speaker 1: and Syria this week. I am recording this the afternoon
Speaker 1: of Tuesday, February seven. I am giving you that disclaimer
Speaker 1: because the numbers keep changing as far as the casualties
Speaker 1: and the death toll goes. So if the numbers are
Speaker 1: different by the time this comes out, which they probably
Speaker 1: will be, that is why. Unfortunately, that is the nature
Speaker 1: of disasters like this. So there's nothing much that we
Speaker 1: can do. But let's talk about the earthquakes themselves. First.
Speaker 1: The initial earthquake was a magnitude of seven point eight
Speaker 1: and it happened in southeastern Turkey early on Monday morning
Speaker 1: their local time, and it was followed by magnitude seven
Speaker 1: point five earthquake only nine hours later, amidst eeveral aftershocks.
Speaker 1: All aftershocks are individual earthquakes, but as long as they
Speaker 1: are not stronger than the original quake, they are considered
Speaker 1: after shocks. But the seven point five magnitude tremor that
Speaker 1: happened after the seven point eight one only point three
Speaker 1: of a difference. It was an unusually strong aftershock. According
Speaker 1: to seismologists, aftershocks are typically about one point to magnitude
Speaker 1: units lower than the original earthquake, So if there was
Speaker 1: a magnitude eight earthquake, the after shock would be in
Speaker 1: magnitude seven. So this was all a very rare, disastrous occurrence.
Speaker 1: The second earthquake was a shock notable all on its own,
Speaker 1: as well as in relation to the primary earthquake. As
Speaker 1: of Tuesday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey,
Speaker 1: at least one and twenty five aftershocks measuring four point
Speaker 1: zero or greater have occurred since the initial seven point
Speaker 1: eight one. The frequency in magnitude of the aftershocks are decreasing,
Speaker 1: as is expected as we get further out from the
Speaker 1: time of the original earthquake. However, five point zero and
Speaker 1: six point zero aftershocks are still possible, and they bring
Speaker 1: a risk of additional damage to structures that are compromised
Speaker 1: from the original earthquake. This brings a continued threat to
Speaker 1: rescue teams and survivors. The aftershocks stretched for more than
Speaker 1: four kilometers or about two fifty miles along the fault
Speaker 1: zone that ruptured in southern Turkey. It stretches from the
Speaker 1: Mediterranean Sea off the northern coast of Syria up to
Speaker 1: the province of Malatia. The initial tremor was centered about
Speaker 1: twenty miles from a major city and provincial capital, Gauzian Tepe,
Speaker 1: and seismologists said that this first earthquake was one of
Speaker 1: the largest ever recorded in Turkey's history. It was also
Speaker 1: the region's strongest earthquake. In nearly a century nine, an
Speaker 1: earthquake of the same magnitude killed thirty thousand people. Earthquakes
Speaker 1: of this magnitude are rare, with fewer than five i've
Speaker 1: occurring each year on average anywhere in the world. Seven
Speaker 1: earthquakes with magnitude seven point zero or greater have struck
Speaker 1: Turkey in the past twenty five years, but the one
Speaker 1: that occurred on Monday it's the most powerful. The effects
Speaker 1: were also felt in the neighboring countries of Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel,
Speaker 1: and Egypt, to name a few. But there's a reason
Speaker 1: white earthquakes are so frequent in Turkey. Turkey sits on
Speaker 1: fault lines, and these earthquakes in the region have caused
Speaker 1: deadly landslides in the past Turkey is situated on two
Speaker 1: massive tectonic plates, the Arabian and the Eurasian, and these
Speaker 1: meat underneath Turkey's southeastern provinces. Along this fault line, about
Speaker 1: hundred miles from one side or the other, the earth slipped.
Speaker 1: Seismologists refer to this event as a strike slip, where
Speaker 1: the plates are touching and all of a sudden they
Speaker 1: slide sideways. In a strike slip, the plates are moving
Speaker 1: horizontally rather than vertically. This matters because the building don't
Speaker 1: want to go back and forth, and then the secondary
Speaker 1: waves begin to go back and forth as well. Because
Speaker 1: of the nature of this seismic event, the aftershocks could
Speaker 1: last for weeks and months. I have had to update
Speaker 1: the death toll many many times in preparing this episode.
Speaker 1: I am probably going to have to update it many
Speaker 1: many more times before this comes out. But as of now,
Speaker 1: when I am recording this the evening of Tuesday, February seven,
Speaker 1: the death toll is over seven thousand and nine hundred
Speaker 1: deaths in Turkey and Syria combined, and it's expected to
Speaker 1: rise significantly more in Syria as these days go by.
Speaker 1: The exact number that is being reported is seven thousand
Speaker 1: nine hundred and twenty six people. The Syrian Civil Defense
Speaker 1: a k a. The White Helmets said that the number
Speaker 1: of fatalities and rebel held areas in northwest Syria rose
Speaker 1: to a thousand, two hundred and twenty and the number
Speaker 1: of injured people rose to two thousand, six hundred, and
Speaker 1: these figures are expected to rise significantly due to the
Speaker 1: presence of hundreds of families under the rubble. The White
Speaker 1: Helmet said quote, our teams continue search and rescue operations
Speaker 1: in difficult circumstances, and they described a tally of more
Speaker 1: than four hundred collapsed buildings and more than one thousand,
Speaker 1: three hundred partially collapsed buildings and thousands of others that
Speaker 1: were damaged. Additionally, at least eight hundred and twelve deaths
Speaker 1: have been confirmed in government controlled parts of Syria. In Turkey,
Speaker 1: at least five thousand, eight hundred and ninety four people
Speaker 1: are dead and thirty four thousand, eight hundred and ten
Speaker 1: are injured. And this number is only going to continue
Speaker 1: to rise. I don't know when it will stop. Maybe
Speaker 1: a week from now, maybe a month. I don't know
Speaker 1: how many more people will be unaccounted for and not
Speaker 1: reported about but this is what we have for now.
Speaker 1: You've probably seen pictures or videos of the devastation that
Speaker 1: is happening. In all the destruction, there have been really
Speaker 1: disturbing images of the ground literally just opening up in
Speaker 1: two and as if you can see the core of
Speaker 1: the earth. And other videos show the collapsed buildings and
Speaker 1: the rubble that rescuers are trying to dig underneath to
Speaker 1: find survivors. This is one story out of many, but
Speaker 1: a newborn baby was reportedly rescued from the rubble in Syria,
Speaker 1: and there is a video of this. A baby girl
Speaker 1: was rescued from the rubble of her home. Her umbilical
Speaker 1: cord was still attached to her mother when she was found,
Speaker 1: and her mother is believed to have died after giving birth.
Speaker 1: One of the men that found her said, we heard
Speaker 1: a voice while we were digging. We cleared the dust
Speaker 1: and found the baby with the umbilical cord intact, so
Speaker 1: we cut it and my cousin took her to the hospital.
Speaker 1: The girl is receiving treatment at a children's hospital and
Speaker 1: as of now she is stable, but arrived with bruises, lacerations,
Speaker 1: and hypothermia, and she's the sole survivor of her immediate family.
Speaker 1: They lived in a five story apartment building that was
Speaker 1: leveled by the quake. And again, this is one example
Speaker 1: of the stories of thousands of people. And I think
Speaker 1: what's important to remember is that even after someone is rescued,
Speaker 1: they're not exactly home free. They can have many injuries
Speaker 1: or hypothermia because it's very cold over there right now,
Speaker 1: and their recovery is going to be brutal. And I
Speaker 1: feel like that's a good thing to keep in mind
Speaker 1: when you hear the word rescue, because the trauma doesn't
Speaker 1: stop there. Almost six thousand buildings have been destroyed by
Speaker 1: this earthquake, and this includes residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and
Speaker 1: the damage is even more severe in northwestern Syria because
Speaker 1: it had been in the process of attempting to reconstruct
Speaker 1: itself since the Syrian War started in Thankfully, members of
Speaker 1: the international community have stepped up to coordinate relief efforts
Speaker 1: to Turkey and Syria after the powerful earthquakes. However, sending
Speaker 1: aid to Syria is going to be difficult because there's
Speaker 1: no central government to take care of the multi sectorial response.
Speaker 1: The Turkish government said quote, we do not know where
Speaker 1: the number of dead and injured can go. In Syria,
Speaker 1: rescue workers used headlamps and floodlights to work throughout the night.
Speaker 1: Many Syrian war refugees are also in the quake stricken
Speaker 1: area of Turkey. Turkey has taken in three point six
Speaker 1: million Syrian refugees, more than any other country, and this
Speaker 1: is according to the u N Refugee Agency, which runs
Speaker 1: one of its largest operations in Gaszian, Tepe, where the
Speaker 1: first earthquake happened and again. Videos shared on social media
Speaker 1: from Turkey and across the border in Syria have showed
Speaker 1: destroyed buildings and rescue crews searching through piles of rebble
Speaker 1: for survivors. Some people fled their homes in the rain
Speaker 1: and took shelter in their cars, and governments around the
Speaker 1: world quickly responded to Turkey's request for international assistance, many
Speaker 1: of them deploying rescue teams and offers of aid, which
Speaker 1: I will get into in a bit. The World Health
Speaker 1: Organization warned that the number of casualties are likely to
Speaker 1: increase as much as eight times as rescuers are finding
Speaker 1: more victims in the rubble. Rescuers have been combing through
Speaker 1: mountains of rubble and freezing and snowy conditions to find survivors,
Speaker 1: and these freezing conditions will leave many people without shelter,
Speaker 1: adding to the dangers. It is freezing over there, and
Speaker 1: that obviously only makes things more difficult and more painful
Speaker 1: and more complicated. And we always see the same thing
Speaker 1: with earthquakes unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of
Speaker 1: the numbers of people who have died or have been
Speaker 1: injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows.
Speaker 1: The situation on the ground seems to be more disastrous
Speaker 1: in Syria, and this is according to the country director
Speaker 1: in Ghazian Tepe for the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation.
Speaker 1: He said, it's a disastrous situation in both Turkey and Syria,
Speaker 1: although Syria is more disastrous. Over a decade of conflict
Speaker 1: in Northern Syria has fostered a poor economic situation to
Speaker 1: say the least, making it very difficult to respond to
Speaker 1: the current crisis. In contrast, the situation in Turkey is
Speaker 1: coordinated through a very well settled government and Northern Syria
Speaker 1: unfortunately has no government that gives a shit about it.
Speaker 1: In Northern Syria, most of the services and help are
Speaker 1: provided by NGOs, and this is due to a long
Speaker 1: term lack of investments in early recovery and infrastructure. One
Speaker 1: of these groups again is the White Helmets. They were
Speaker 1: one of the main saviors or helpers ever since the
Speaker 1: Syrians Civil war started in eleven They have been on
Speaker 1: the ground helping and they are made up of Syrian volunteers.
Speaker 1: And I think that's important to keep in mind because
Speaker 1: many Syrians have relied on each other and each other
Speaker 1: alone because they didn't receive help in the past. And
Speaker 1: I'm going to get into later how much the country's
Speaker 1: civil war has made things exponentially worse. Several parts in
Speaker 1: northwestern Syria, including the city of Islab, are still controlled
Speaker 1: by anti government rebels. This representative added that they evacuated
Speaker 1: to maturity hospitals because of the physical impact of the
Speaker 1: earthquake on the infrastructure. And so the question is where
Speaker 1: are these people going to go. There's no shelter, it
Speaker 1: is freezing, and there's not enough aid to go around.
Speaker 1: And I'm hoping the countries that have said they will
Speaker 1: help are in the process of actually doing so. And
Speaker 1: I'm going to get into some of them in a
Speaker 1: moment because I'm grateful that there's help coming from somewhere.
Speaker 1: And amongst all this, there have been calls to ease
Speaker 1: the Syrian border restrictions and controls. Four countries to offer
Speaker 1: their aid and again the rebel held on clave in
Speaker 1: northwest Syria, across the border from Turkey, is among the
Speaker 1: areas that have been hit the worst by this disaster.
Speaker 1: International pledges, as I said, of emergency aid have poured
Speaker 1: in for Turkey and Syria, leading to calls for the
Speaker 1: international community to relax some of the political restrictions on
Speaker 1: aid entering Northwest Syria. The Turkish President Aragon, who was
Speaker 1: facing an election only a few months, said the offers
Speaker 1: of aid to Turkey had come from forty five countries,
Speaker 1: ranging from Kuwait to Israel, Russia and the UK. Syria
Speaker 1: said it had received offers of help from China, Russia, Lebanon, Algeria,
Speaker 1: and the United Arab Immirance. Aid from around the world
Speaker 1: is thankfully heading towards Turkey and Syria, and some seventy
Speaker 1: countries and fourteen international organizations have offered their assistance. Here's
Speaker 1: a roundup of some of the latest pledges. There is
Speaker 1: a Hungarian rescue team of fifty people, including five military
Speaker 1: doctors and to search dogs. South Korea plans to offer
Speaker 1: humanitarian aid worth five million to Turkey and send about
Speaker 1: a hundred and ten disaster relief workers and military personnel
Speaker 1: to support its search and rescue work. You may notice
Speaker 1: that I'm only saying they're sending aid to Turkey and
Speaker 1: a couple of these, and I will get into why
Speaker 1: in a little bit, but to continue, the Palestinian International
Speaker 1: Corporation Agency will deploy seventy experts to the quake later
Speaker 1: this week, sending two crews comprised of the Civil Defense,
Speaker 1: Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Red Cross. As well
Speaker 1: as doctors and engineers. There are also teams from the
Speaker 1: Palestinian Red Crescent and they are carrying out earthquake rescue
Speaker 1: and relief operations and the Palestinian refugee camps and the
Speaker 1: surrounding areas in Syria. At least three Palestinian refugee camps
Speaker 1: in Syria were struck by the earthquake. Pakistan deployed to
Speaker 1: content engines of emergency services to Turkey. China said it
Speaker 1: will send about five point nine million dollars worth of
Speaker 1: aid to Turkey, while also coordinating with Syria for emergency
Speaker 1: supplies and accelerating ongoing food aid projects to Israeli aid
Speaker 1: groups chartered a special flight to Gauzi and tep on
Speaker 1: Tuesday to bring personnel and equipment to victims. Germany's Federal
Speaker 1: Agency for Technical Relief is sending a team of fifty
Speaker 1: recovery experts to Turkey. The Dalai Lama committed to sending
Speaker 1: rescue and relief efforts early today, and Taiwan increased its
Speaker 1: donation to Turkey from two hundred thousand to two million
Speaker 1: dollars and it dispatched about a hundred and thirty rescue teams.
Speaker 1: Indonesia also supplied aid for Turkey. The Vice President of
Speaker 1: Indonesia highlighted the urgency of dispatching humanitarian aid to Turkey
Speaker 1: to return the support granted by the country to Indonesia
Speaker 1: during their times of need over natural disasters in the past.
Speaker 1: Canada also pledged seven point five million dollars to earth
Speaker 1: quake relief. Egypt offered relief assistance to Syria in the
Speaker 1: wake of this earthquake. Ukraine will send eight seven emergency
Speaker 1: staff workers to Turkey to assist with the relief efforts
Speaker 1: and not just countries, but also companies and nonprofits have
Speaker 1: offered their help. This week. For example, Amazon announced that
Speaker 1: it will help the victims of Turkey earthquake by donating food, medicine,
Speaker 1: and equipment from its Istanbul warehouse. Amazon has about two
Speaker 1: thousand employees in Turkey, and in a statement on Monday,
Speaker 1: it said that it activated its quote disaster relief capabilities
Speaker 1: and was preparing to donate relief items including blankets, tents, food,
Speaker 1: baby food, and medicines. Even here in the US, the
Speaker 1: Virginia Task Force one is sending a crew of seventy
Speaker 1: nine members and six dogs to Turkey, and there are
Speaker 1: seventy eight members of the l A County Fire Department
Speaker 1: who left Monday evening to Turkey. And then there's Greece,
Speaker 1: who set aside tensions with Turkey to send aid. But
Speaker 1: helping Syria, they said, is more complicated. Despite its tensions
Speaker 1: with Turkey, Greece was among the countries that have dispatched
Speaker 1: help to the country, but conflict torn Northwest Syria makes
Speaker 1: the same efforts more complicated, the Prime Minister said. Grace
Speaker 1: and Turkey, he said, are quote neighbors who need to
Speaker 1: help each other through difficult times. This is not the
Speaker 1: first time earthquakes have struck our countries. This is a
Speaker 1: time to temporarily set aside our differences and try to
Speaker 1: address what is a very, very urgent situation. He continued
Speaker 1: to explain that in Syria, however, there is no official
Speaker 1: person or official from the government to have a dialogue with,
Speaker 1: and no assurance that aid will make it to the
Speaker 1: impacted area and people, and that makes relief efforts hard
Speaker 1: to pull off. No country on its own has the
Speaker 1: ability to actually make these sort of arrangements. That's why
Speaker 1: I think it is important that these negotiations could take
Speaker 1: place either through the U N or through the European
Speaker 1: Union by pulling resources. I would not feel confident having
Speaker 1: these sort of discussions at a bilateral level. He also
Speaker 1: added that he has not directly communicated with Damascus. He
Speaker 1: went on to say that quote, I want to stress this,
Speaker 1: this is not about geopolitics. This is not about recognizing
Speaker 1: any sort of regime. This is about saving people and
Speaker 1: horrible conditions who desperately need our assistance. So the scale
Speaker 1: of aid being offered is going to require a large
Speaker 1: coordination effort as well as delicate diplomatic maneuvers to supply
Speaker 1: aid to Syria, where the leadership of A. Charles said
Speaker 1: is not recognized in the West. It's not recognized for
Speaker 1: me either, and many Syrians feel the same way. But
Speaker 1: that is the monster that we are currently dealing with
Speaker 1: and there's not much we can do about that at
Speaker 1: this certain point in time. And so, as I mentioned,
Speaker 1: the Syrian side of the border is going to be
Speaker 1: a challenge since the worst affected areas contain hundreds of
Speaker 1: thousands of Syrian refugees that are locked in a war
Speaker 1: zone and still facing attacks from Syrian government forces. Aid
Speaker 1: agencies reported that some of the roads from Turkey into
Speaker 1: Syria were blocked, including the main cross border crossing used
Speaker 1: by international aid agencies. The White Helmets said hundreds of
Speaker 1: families were still trapped in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Speaker 1: They also added that terrible weather conditions, including freezing temperatures,
Speaker 1: had compounded the crisis, and they're continuing rescue operations in
Speaker 1: Syria despite great difficulties in aftershocks, they said. The White
Speaker 1: Helmets also urged the Assad regime and Russia to refrain
Speaker 1: from military activity, and they affected areas in order to
Speaker 1: allow international groups to unify and help the people affected.
Speaker 1: A spokesperson from the White Helmets said, our teams responded
Speaker 1: and until now many families are under the rubble. Our
Speaker 1: teams are trying hard to find all the casualties. Northwest
Speaker 1: Syria is now a disaster area. We need help from
Speaker 1: everyone to save our people. I think this would be
Speaker 1: a moment to take a little break. I don't have
Speaker 1: the capacity or emotional bandwidth to think of a clever segue.
Speaker 1: So here are some ads and we are back. We're
Speaker 1: talking about the difficulty sending aid to Syria along the
Speaker 1: Turkey Syrian border. Last month, actually, the UN Security Council
Speaker 1: agree to allow aid into Northwest Syria from Turkey across
Speaker 1: one border, crossing Bablahalla, surprising no one. The Syrian regime
Speaker 1: has been resistant to allowing aid into a region serving
Speaker 1: more than four million of its people because it regards
Speaker 1: the aid as undermining Syrian sovereignty and reducing its chances
Speaker 1: of winning back control of the region. Yes, that is correct.
Speaker 1: The Syria government doesn't want to help more than four
Speaker 1: million of its own people because one day it wants
Speaker 1: to control them again. Are you fucking kidding me? I?
Speaker 1: I don't understand that malignant desire to rule over a
Speaker 1: land that you have destroyed, in a people that you
Speaker 1: have murdered. I don't get the fucking point, but regardless,
Speaker 1: that is one of the many reasons why getting aid
Speaker 1: into Syria is going to be much more complicated than
Speaker 1: getting aid into Turkey. Additionally, Mark Locock, the former head
Speaker 1: of U and Humanitarian Affairs, said the area's worst affected
Speaker 1: by the earthquake inside Syria look to be run by
Speaker 1: the Turkish controlled opposition and not by the Syrian government.
Speaker 1: It is going to require Turkish acquiescence to aid in
Speaker 1: these areas. It is unlikely the Syrian government will do
Speaker 1: much to help. Yes, Mark, I think you're right. The
Speaker 1: Syrian government is and gonna do shit if anything. Said
Speaker 1: is probably happy seeing all these people dying, because that's
Speaker 1: his whole mmm, just to kill the Syrian people anyway.
Speaker 1: A video from a hospital posted by the Syrian American
Speaker 1: Medical Society showed that it was immensely crowded. They said,
Speaker 1: our hospitals are overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways. There
Speaker 1: is an immediate need for trauma supplies and a comprehensive
Speaker 1: emergency response to save lives. And treat the injured. Initial
Speaker 1: needs are for tens of thousands of tents, heaters for
Speaker 1: the tents, tens of thousands of blankets, thermal clothes, ready
Speaker 1: to eat food, and basic first aid kits. A unit
Speaker 1: of representative in Aleppo said that the hospitals in Syria
Speaker 1: are absolutely overloaded. Hospitals are full of patients with trauma,
Speaker 1: broken bones and lacerations, and some people are going to
Speaker 1: the hospital to seek help for the mental trauma they
Speaker 1: endured after the earthquake struck, the UNSEAT representative Angela Kearney said,
Speaker 1: and while hospitals are functioning, the task has been overwhelming.
Speaker 1: Describing the scene in Aleppo when the earthquake struck on Monday,
Speaker 1: Kearnie said, children who have already been traumatized by war
Speaker 1: were bewildered. They didn't know what was happening. Kearnie said
Speaker 1: that on Monday morning, when UNISEEF began its work in
Speaker 1: the area, there were seven schools in Aleppo that are
Speaker 1: being used as shelters. By Tuesday morning, that number grew
Speaker 1: to sixty seven and currently it is nearly two hundred
Speaker 1: and all of those schools that are partially damaged. There
Speaker 1: are families there who left their apartments left their houses
Speaker 1: with just their pajamas, she said. She also added that
Speaker 1: while aid is starting to go into the affected areas,
Speaker 1: there are still a desperate need for blankets, food, clean water,
Speaker 1: medical care, and nutritional care. She said that water, sanitation
Speaker 1: and nutrition needs are the most urgent. The aid is
Speaker 1: starting to go in, but it is overwhelming. The needs
Speaker 1: are very great. There are discussions under way to open
Speaker 1: aid corridors from the government controlled parts of Syria to
Speaker 1: the rebel held areas. Hammad Hammoud, Syria Country manager at
Speaker 1: the Norwegian Red Cross, said that he hopes with the
Speaker 1: help and efforts from humanitarian communities, this would happen in
Speaker 1: the coming days, and he said currently nothing has moved there,
Speaker 1: but there are discussions about moving aid and access to
Speaker 1: these areas. He continued to say, after being asked if
Speaker 1: the Syrian government in Damascus has been helpful to these areas,
Speaker 1: he said they have stated that they are open to
Speaker 1: cross line intervention, meaning from government held areas to these
Speaker 1: non government held areas. They are open to it. They're
Speaker 1: not doing ship though obviously. Earlier today, the head of
Speaker 1: the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which described itself as an
Speaker 1: independent and volunteer based humanitarian organization, said that the organization
Speaker 1: is ready to immediately send aid convoys to rebel old areas,
Speaker 1: including Islib through the u N. Hamoud added that the
Speaker 1: humanitarian situation is worsening. He said we are in a
Speaker 1: race against time. In describing the rescue and search operations,
Speaker 1: Hamoud said that due to the lack of machinery, most
Speaker 1: of the work on clearing the rubble is done by
Speaker 1: hand and the cold weather conditions are not helping. He
Speaker 1: also added that the buildings are already weakened because of
Speaker 1: eleven years of war. In addition to the thousands of
Speaker 1: people that have been lost to this tragedy, there are
Speaker 1: also some cultural sites that have been permanently damaged in
Speaker 1: both Turkey and Syria. UNESCO, the United Nations Cultural Organization,
Speaker 1: said it's going to provide assistance following the cultural site damage.
Speaker 1: UNESCO said that it is particularly concerned about the situation
Speaker 1: in the ancient city of Aleppo, which is on the
Speaker 1: list of World Heritage and Danger. It added that the
Speaker 1: citadel had significant damage, the old city wall has collapsed,
Speaker 1: and several building and the suits have been weakened. In
Speaker 1: the Turkish city of Diyad Beka Unit School lamented the
Speaker 1: collapse of several buildings. The city is home to the
Speaker 1: World Heritage Site, the Yabucat of Fortress and the he
Speaker 1: cl Gardens cultural landscape, which is an important center of
Speaker 1: the Romans and Acid Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods. The
Speaker 1: organization says it is mobilizing experts to establish a precise
Speaker 1: inventory of the damage with the aim of rapidly securing
Speaker 1: and stabilizing these sites. Aleppo was also one of the
Speaker 1: city's worst damaged by the Syrian regime. It is a beautiful,
Speaker 1: beautiful place. Everything that the regime has destroyed was a beautiful,
Speaker 1: beautiful place. Aleppo had a lot of history, though, and
Speaker 1: that region is just home to so much history, and
Speaker 1: it's just really heartbreaking to know the extent of the
Speaker 1: loss that doesn't just include lives. In talking to my
Speaker 1: mom and my family about this, the sentiment seems like
Speaker 1: it's the same that it's been for the past decade. Essentially,
Speaker 1: Syrians don't have a government. There is no government. Assad
Speaker 1: in his regime doesn't care about the Syrian people. My
Speaker 1: mom literally said, we have no one we've known this
Speaker 1: for years, no one helped us. Syrians are the ones
Speaker 1: supporting each other. The White Helmets is a great example
Speaker 1: of this. One of our family's friends on the ground
Speaker 1: in the city of Hamma, which is where my mom
Speaker 1: is from, was saying that it was absolute chaos. Everyone
Speaker 1: is in the streets and no one is daring to
Speaker 1: go back inside their homes. Another person was telling us
Speaker 1: about his experience, and he said, I was asleep and
Speaker 1: felt the earthquake start in my bed. My son was terrified,
Speaker 1: and I went to hug my son. I kept telling
Speaker 1: him it'll be over soon, It'll be over soon, and
Speaker 1: then roof started crumbling on top of us. So then
Speaker 1: he ran outside and he saw many people doing the same,
Speaker 1: just running outside their homes if they were able to
Speaker 1: make it out, and watching their homes just crumble in
Speaker 1: front of them. Let's take a break, and when we
Speaker 1: come back, I want to set the scene of what
Speaker 1: Syrians have been going through even before this earthquake even happened,
Speaker 1: and how sanctions in particular have made the impact of
Speaker 1: this disaster exponentially worse. So we're back and we're going
Speaker 1: to talk about how sanctions have only aided in the
Speaker 1: suffering of the Syrian people twelve years after the eruption
Speaker 1: of the Syrian Uprising and the subsequent conflict, The US
Speaker 1: IS Syria policy has constrained political pressure on the Assad
Speaker 1: regime to broad economic sanctions, but despite an expansive approach
Speaker 1: that targets entire economic sectors, these sanctions have had little
Speaker 1: to no effect in pushing the regime to offer political concessions,
Speaker 1: engage meaningfully in a peaceful settlement of the conflict, or
Speaker 1: improve its human rights record. All the while, conditions in
Speaker 1: Syria have steadily worsened. As sanctions along with the destructive
Speaker 1: effects of twelve years of conflict, the economic crisis and
Speaker 1: neighboring Lebanon, and the COVID nineteen pandemic, all of this
Speaker 1: has fueled an economic collapse that has left more than
Speaker 1: nine percent of the population in Syria living in poverty.
Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy nine, the United States listed Syria as
Speaker 1: a state sponsor of terrorism, and since then it has
Speaker 1: pursued sanctions as a primary tool in its policy towards Syria.
Speaker 1: The George W. Bush administration issued a series of sanctions
Speaker 1: under executive orders aiming to limit Syria's destabilizing influence in Iraq. However,
Speaker 1: after the eleven uprising, the Barack Obama Mamma and Donald
Speaker 1: Trump administrations sanctioned the Assad regime on an unprecedented scale
Speaker 1: for its gross human rights violations against his people. These
Speaker 1: sanctions ultimately accumulated in the passing of the Caesar Act
Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen, and this allows primary and secondary sanctions
Speaker 1: targeting both those who commit the sanctionable offenses and those
Speaker 1: who enable them. Just three months ago, in November two,
Speaker 1: a u when appointed independent human rights expert urge the
Speaker 1: United States to lift the unilateral sanctions against Syria, warning
Speaker 1: that they are perpetrating and exacerbating the destruction and trauma
Speaker 1: suffered by ordinary citizens since the brutal war began in
Speaker 1: This expert's name is Alana Dohan, and she said, I
Speaker 1: am struck by the pervasiveness of the human rights and
Speaker 1: humanitarian impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria
Speaker 1: and the total economic and financial isolation of a country
Speaker 1: whose people are strug ling to rebuild a life with dignity.
Speaker 1: In a statement that followed her twelve day visit to Syria,
Speaker 1: Dohan presented detailed information on the catastrophic effects that sanctions
Speaker 1: have had on all aspects of Syrian life. Currently, serious
Speaker 1: population is living below the poverty line, she said, pointing
Speaker 1: to their limited access to food, water, electricity, shelter, cooking
Speaker 1: and heating, fuel, transportation, and healthcare. Moreover, growing economic hardship
Speaker 1: threatens to trigger a massive brain drain in the country,
Speaker 1: she said, with more than half of the vital infrastructure
Speaker 1: either completely destroyed or severely damaged, the imposition of unilateral
Speaker 1: sanctions on key economic sectors, including oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction,
Speaker 1: and engineering, have quashed national income and they undermined efforts
Speaker 1: toward economic recovery and reconstruction. These sanctions have committed very
Speaker 1: as human rights violations in their existence, including these serious
Speaker 1: shortages and medicines and specialized medical equipment. My family and
Speaker 1: I have direct experience with these repercussions of the lack
Speaker 1: of medicines and medical equipment. My cousin, a child, had
Speaker 1: brain cancer and it got worse and worse, and the
Speaker 1: city they were in did not offer the treatment necessary
Speaker 1: or even chemo to help his condition. So his mother
Speaker 1: would drive to Damascus, where at least some of the
Speaker 1: treatment options were available, but the road to Damascus, even
Speaker 1: though it shouldn't take more than a few hours, can
Speaker 1: sometimes take all day because there are so many checkpoints
Speaker 1: and road closures and just the regime making it so
Speaker 1: difficult to do anything. Ultimately, my cousin was suffering for
Speaker 1: the anger of his very young life, and he didn't
Speaker 1: get the treatment that he needed. And I really think
Speaker 1: these sanctions have a lot to do with the lack
Speaker 1: of access that my family and many families have in Syria.
Speaker 1: And that experience that my family went through is one
Speaker 1: of many that many Syrian families have endured because of
Speaker 1: these sanctions. So I want you guys to keep that
Speaker 1: in mind. That numbers also contain individual lives, and each
Speaker 1: one is devastating all on its own. And I know
Speaker 1: I say that often, but I think it bears repeating
Speaker 1: every time. I don't want us to be numb to
Speaker 1: statistics and numbers when it comes to casualties and suffering
Speaker 1: and loss. And maybe it sounds obvious, but I just
Speaker 1: think we need your remember the value of human life
Speaker 1: and what it means to take it away. So that's
Speaker 1: what I'm going to say about that. For now. Let's
Speaker 1: get back to the reports that MS Dohan was showing
Speaker 1: the US back in November two about the effect of
Speaker 1: the sanctions, so including the impact that sanctions have had
Speaker 1: on the serious shortages and medicines and specialized medical equipment
Speaker 1: due to the unavailability of equipment and spare parts. She
Speaker 1: warned that the rehabilitation and development of water distribution networks
Speaker 1: for drinking and irrigation has stalled, with serious implications for
Speaker 1: public health and food security. Twelve million Syrians are experiencing
Speaker 1: food and security. This is pre earthquake. The number is
Speaker 1: probably much higher now. Dohan urged for the immediate lifting
Speaker 1: of all unilateral sanctions that severely harm human rights and
Speaker 1: prevent any efforts for early recovery, rebuilding and reconstruction. She said,
Speaker 1: no reference to good objectives of unilateral sanctions justifies the
Speaker 1: violation of fundamental human rights. The international community has an
Speaker 1: obligation of solidarity and assistance to the Syrian people. I
Speaker 1: want to add something that UNICEF said about the children
Speaker 1: in Syria. Children in Syria continue to face one of
Speaker 1: the most complex humanitarian situations in the world. A worsening
Speaker 1: economic crisis, continued localized hostilities after more than a decade
Speaker 1: of grinding conflict, mass displacement, and devastated public infrastructure have
Speaker 1: left two thirds of the population in need of assistance.
Speaker 1: Water Borne diseases pose another deadly threat to children and
Speaker 1: families affected. And all of this is again pre earthquake.
Speaker 1: This is the life that Syrians have known for years
Speaker 1: now without any assistance. Sanctions have done nothing but contribute
Speaker 1: to the increase in the suffering of Assyrian people, and
Speaker 1: now count treason organizations might have a hard time providing
Speaker 1: aid because of these sanctions. Sanctions have done nothing but
Speaker 1: contribute to the suffering and pain of the Syrian people.
Speaker 1: They didn't do anything they were supposedly meant to do.
Speaker 1: The Assad regime isn't going to change anything. It hasn't
Speaker 1: changed anything. It's still killing its people. I also want
Speaker 1: to mention that last year on May, the EU extended
Speaker 1: its sanctions against the Syrian government for another year. Who
Speaker 1: knows if this will change, but for now that's the reality.
Speaker 1: So I'm really hoping these sanctions get eventually lifted or else.
Speaker 1: Helping the Syrian people is going to be extremely difficult,
Speaker 1: and right now rescuers are still digging through thousands and
Speaker 1: thousands of flattened buildings, in near freezing temperatures. The death
Speaker 1: toll is only going to continue to rise, and everyone
Speaker 1: there needs all the help they can get. And I know,
Speaker 1: at least for me, it feels really helpless. I've felt
Speaker 1: pretty helpless for a long time when it comes to Syria.
Speaker 1: But if you're able to donate any money at all,
Speaker 1: I would really urge you to donate to a charity
Speaker 1: that you trust. I really like the White Helmets because
Speaker 1: they're just on the ground and they've been doing the
Speaker 1: work for years. So if you're able to, I think
Speaker 1: help can go a long way. I want to end
Speaker 1: with something that Elena Dohan, the UN appointed independent human
Speaker 1: rights expert that gave the US this report about the
Speaker 1: sanctions in November. She quoted one view that she heard
Speaker 1: expressed many times. She said, I saw much suffering, but
Speaker 1: now I see the hope die. So that's where the
Speaker 1: Syrian people started, that's where they've been. Nearly seventy of
Speaker 1: the Syrian population was already in need humanitarian aid before
Speaker 1: the earthquake even happened, and it's an issue that's only
Speaker 1: been compounded by the tragedy today. The UN said quote,
Speaker 1: this tragedy will have a devastating impact on many vulnerable
Speaker 1: families who struggle to provide for their loved ones on
Speaker 1: a daily basis. The statement outlined the impact of serious
Speaker 1: twelve year war, describing a country as grappling with economic collapse,
Speaker 1: severe water, electricity and fuel shortages. They issued an appeal
Speaker 1: to all donor partners to provide assistance necessary to alleviate suffering.
Speaker 1: The UN and humanitarian partners say they are currently focusing
Speaker 1: on immediate needs including food, shelter and non food items
Speaker 1: and medicine and the devastation of this earthquake because of
Speaker 1: this is truly devastating. I cannot emphasize that enough. So again,
Speaker 1: if you're able to donate, I really urge you to,
Speaker 1: and if you can't, just keep raising awareness because as
Speaker 1: someone else might be able to donate. And that's all
Speaker 1: we really have for now. So that's the episode. I
Speaker 1: hope it was informative or eye opening in any way.
Speaker 1: Thank you for listening. I will talk to you later.
Speaker 1: It could happen here as a production of cool Zone Media.
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