WEBVTT - The Devastating Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria 0:00:05.320 --> 0:00:09.319 Hello, and welcome to It could happen here. This is 0:00:09.400 --> 0:00:12.520 Sharne and today I will be talking to you about 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:15.960 the series of devastating earthquakes that have happened in Turkey 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:19.880 and Syria this week. I am recording this the afternoon 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:23.920 of Tuesday, February seven. I am giving you that disclaimer 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:28.320 because the numbers keep changing as far as the casualties 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.960 and the death toll goes. So if the numbers are 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:34.000 different by the time this comes out, which they probably 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:38.000 will be, that is why. Unfortunately, that is the nature 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:42.640 of disasters like this. So there's nothing much that we 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:46.000 can do. But let's talk about the earthquakes themselves. First. 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:50.080 The initial earthquake was a magnitude of seven point eight 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:53.120 and it happened in southeastern Turkey early on Monday morning 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.440 their local time, and it was followed by magnitude seven 0:00:56.440 --> 0:01:01.000 point five earthquake only nine hours later, amidst eeveral aftershocks. 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:05.520 All aftershocks are individual earthquakes, but as long as they 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:08.679 are not stronger than the original quake, they are considered 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:13.000 after shocks. But the seven point five magnitude tremor that 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:15.959 happened after the seven point eight one only point three 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:19.520 of a difference. It was an unusually strong aftershock. According 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:25.600 to seismologists, aftershocks are typically about one point to magnitude 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:28.920 units lower than the original earthquake, So if there was 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:31.760 a magnitude eight earthquake, the after shock would be in 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:36.120 magnitude seven. So this was all a very rare, disastrous occurrence. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:40.280 The second earthquake was a shock notable all on its own, 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:44.560 as well as in relation to the primary earthquake. As 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:48.360 of Tuesday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey, 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:51.640 at least one and twenty five aftershocks measuring four point 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:55.200 zero or greater have occurred since the initial seven point 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:59.480 eight one. The frequency in magnitude of the aftershocks are decreasing, 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.320 as is expected as we get further out from the 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:06.160 time of the original earthquake. However, five point zero and 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:09.600 six point zero aftershocks are still possible, and they bring 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:12.679 a risk of additional damage to structures that are compromised 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:16.799 from the original earthquake. This brings a continued threat to 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:20.920 rescue teams and survivors. The aftershocks stretched for more than 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:24.400 four kilometers or about two fifty miles along the fault 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:27.880 zone that ruptured in southern Turkey. It stretches from the 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:31.240 Mediterranean Sea off the northern coast of Syria up to 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:36.560 the province of Malatia. The initial tremor was centered about 0:02:36.600 --> 0:02:40.240 twenty miles from a major city and provincial capital, Gauzian Tepe, 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:43.440 and seismologists said that this first earthquake was one of 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:47.400 the largest ever recorded in Turkey's history. It was also 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:52.359 the region's strongest earthquake. In nearly a century nine, an 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:57.359 earthquake of the same magnitude killed thirty thousand people. Earthquakes 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:00.200 of this magnitude are rare, with fewer than five i've 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.919 occurring each year on average anywhere in the world. Seven 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:07.239 earthquakes with magnitude seven point zero or greater have struck 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:10.280 Turkey in the past twenty five years, but the one 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:14.360 that occurred on Monday it's the most powerful. The effects 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:18.240 were also felt in the neighboring countries of Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:21.080 and Egypt, to name a few. But there's a reason 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:24.640 white earthquakes are so frequent in Turkey. Turkey sits on 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:28.840 fault lines, and these earthquakes in the region have caused 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:32.880 deadly landslides in the past Turkey is situated on two 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:37.320 massive tectonic plates, the Arabian and the Eurasian, and these 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:42.040 meat underneath Turkey's southeastern provinces. Along this fault line, about 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:45.280 hundred miles from one side or the other, the earth slipped. 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.800 Seismologists refer to this event as a strike slip, where 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:52.040 the plates are touching and all of a sudden they 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:55.880 slide sideways. In a strike slip, the plates are moving 0:03:55.920 --> 0:04:00.440 horizontally rather than vertically. This matters because the building don't 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:03.480 want to go back and forth, and then the secondary 0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:07.160 waves begin to go back and forth as well. Because 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:10.440 of the nature of this seismic event, the aftershocks could 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.440 last for weeks and months. I have had to update 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:19.280 the death toll many many times in preparing this episode. 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:23.320 I am probably going to have to update it many 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:27.719 many more times before this comes out. But as of now, 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:31.400 when I am recording this the evening of Tuesday, February seven, 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:35.880 the death toll is over seven thousand and nine hundred 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:40.479 deaths in Turkey and Syria combined, and it's expected to 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:45.120 rise significantly more in Syria as these days go by. 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:48.720 The exact number that is being reported is seven thousand 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:52.760 nine hundred and twenty six people. The Syrian Civil Defense 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.480 a k a. The White Helmets said that the number 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:59.200 of fatalities and rebel held areas in northwest Syria rose 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:01.640 to a thousand, two hundred and twenty and the number 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:05.039 of injured people rose to two thousand, six hundred, and 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.359 these figures are expected to rise significantly due to the 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:12.400 presence of hundreds of families under the rubble. The White 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:16.200 Helmet said quote, our teams continue search and rescue operations 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:19.680 in difficult circumstances, and they described a tally of more 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:22.640 than four hundred collapsed buildings and more than one thousand, 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:25.960 three hundred partially collapsed buildings and thousands of others that 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:30.080 were damaged. Additionally, at least eight hundred and twelve deaths 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:34.360 have been confirmed in government controlled parts of Syria. In Turkey, 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:37.200 at least five thousand, eight hundred and ninety four people 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.040 are dead and thirty four thousand, eight hundred and ten 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:44.320 are injured. And this number is only going to continue 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:48.719 to rise. I don't know when it will stop. Maybe 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:52.320 a week from now, maybe a month. I don't know 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:55.039 how many more people will be unaccounted for and not 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:59.080 reported about but this is what we have for now. 0:05:59.839 --> 0:06:04.640 You've probably seen pictures or videos of the devastation that 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:07.760 is happening. In all the destruction, there have been really 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:11.320 disturbing images of the ground literally just opening up in 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:14.880 two and as if you can see the core of 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:19.560 the earth. And other videos show the collapsed buildings and 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:23.640 the rubble that rescuers are trying to dig underneath to 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:27.960 find survivors. This is one story out of many, but 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.880 a newborn baby was reportedly rescued from the rubble in Syria, 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:35.159 and there is a video of this. A baby girl 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:39.040 was rescued from the rubble of her home. Her umbilical 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:41.719 cord was still attached to her mother when she was found, 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:45.599 and her mother is believed to have died after giving birth. 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:48.960 One of the men that found her said, we heard 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:52.159 a voice while we were digging. We cleared the dust 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:55.040 and found the baby with the umbilical cord intact, so 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.279 we cut it and my cousin took her to the hospital. 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:01.800 The girl is receiving treatment at a children's hospital and 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:05.920 as of now she is stable, but arrived with bruises, lacerations, 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:09.920 and hypothermia, and she's the sole survivor of her immediate family. 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:12.880 They lived in a five story apartment building that was 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:16.560 leveled by the quake. And again, this is one example 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:20.400 of the stories of thousands of people. And I think 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:23.960 what's important to remember is that even after someone is rescued, 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:28.760 they're not exactly home free. They can have many injuries 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:31.680 or hypothermia because it's very cold over there right now, 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:35.760 and their recovery is going to be brutal. And I 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:37.360 feel like that's a good thing to keep in mind 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:40.680 when you hear the word rescue, because the trauma doesn't 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:44.960 stop there. Almost six thousand buildings have been destroyed by 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:49.640 this earthquake, and this includes residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:53.080 the damage is even more severe in northwestern Syria because 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:55.840 it had been in the process of attempting to reconstruct 0:07:55.920 --> 0:08:01.200 itself since the Syrian War started in Thankfully, members of 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:04.760 the international community have stepped up to coordinate relief efforts 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:09.600 to Turkey and Syria after the powerful earthquakes. However, sending 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:12.480 aid to Syria is going to be difficult because there's 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:16.360 no central government to take care of the multi sectorial response. 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:20.480 The Turkish government said quote, we do not know where 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:23.960 the number of dead and injured can go. In Syria, 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:28.000 rescue workers used headlamps and floodlights to work throughout the night. 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:31.880 Many Syrian war refugees are also in the quake stricken 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:35.680 area of Turkey. Turkey has taken in three point six 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:39.959 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country, and this 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:43.199 is according to the u N Refugee Agency, which runs 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:46.320 one of its largest operations in Gaszian, Tepe, where the 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:50.400 first earthquake happened and again. Videos shared on social media 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:53.080 from Turkey and across the border in Syria have showed 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:57.000 destroyed buildings and rescue crews searching through piles of rebble 0:08:57.080 --> 0:09:00.400 for survivors. Some people fled their homes in the rain 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:03.440 and took shelter in their cars, and governments around the 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:08.480 world quickly responded to Turkey's request for international assistance, many 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:11.120 of them deploying rescue teams and offers of aid, which 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:15.559 I will get into in a bit. The World Health 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.000 Organization warned that the number of casualties are likely to 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:23.080 increase as much as eight times as rescuers are finding 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:27.600 more victims in the rubble. Rescuers have been combing through 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:31.679 mountains of rubble and freezing and snowy conditions to find survivors, 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:35.000 and these freezing conditions will leave many people without shelter, 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:40.720 adding to the dangers. It is freezing over there, and 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:44.600 that obviously only makes things more difficult and more painful 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:49.719 and more complicated. And we always see the same thing 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:53.400 with earthquakes unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:55.559 the numbers of people who have died or have been 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:59.360 injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows. 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:03.920 The situation on the ground seems to be more disastrous 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:06.800 in Syria, and this is according to the country director 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:10.480 in Ghazian Tepe for the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation. 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:15.840 He said, it's a disastrous situation in both Turkey and Syria, 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:20.000 although Syria is more disastrous. Over a decade of conflict 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.440 in Northern Syria has fostered a poor economic situation to 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:26.320 say the least, making it very difficult to respond to 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:30.280 the current crisis. In contrast, the situation in Turkey is 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:35.160 coordinated through a very well settled government and Northern Syria 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.160 unfortunately has no government that gives a shit about it. 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:41.839 In Northern Syria, most of the services and help are 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:45.040 provided by NGOs, and this is due to a long 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:49.200 term lack of investments in early recovery and infrastructure. One 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:51.679 of these groups again is the White Helmets. They were 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:55.400 one of the main saviors or helpers ever since the 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:57.920 Syrians Civil war started in eleven They have been on 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:01.080 the ground helping and they are made up of Syrian volunteers. 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:04.120 And I think that's important to keep in mind because 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:07.439 many Syrians have relied on each other and each other 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.720 alone because they didn't receive help in the past. And 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:13.439 I'm going to get into later how much the country's 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:18.800 civil war has made things exponentially worse. Several parts in 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:22.520 northwestern Syria, including the city of Islab, are still controlled 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:27.520 by anti government rebels. This representative added that they evacuated 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.600 to maturity hospitals because of the physical impact of the 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:34.320 earthquake on the infrastructure. And so the question is where 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:38.560 are these people going to go. There's no shelter, it 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:41.800 is freezing, and there's not enough aid to go around. 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:45.560 And I'm hoping the countries that have said they will 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:48.760 help are in the process of actually doing so. And 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:51.080 I'm going to get into some of them in a 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:54.600 moment because I'm grateful that there's help coming from somewhere. 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:58.000 And amongst all this, there have been calls to ease 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:02.360 the Syrian border restrictions and controls. Four countries to offer 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:05.719 their aid and again the rebel held on clave in 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:09.280 northwest Syria, across the border from Turkey, is among the 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:11.760 areas that have been hit the worst by this disaster. 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:16.400 International pledges, as I said, of emergency aid have poured 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:18.920 in for Turkey and Syria, leading to calls for the 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:22.360 international community to relax some of the political restrictions on 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:27.480 aid entering Northwest Syria. The Turkish President Aragon, who was 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:30.720 facing an election only a few months, said the offers 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.480 of aid to Turkey had come from forty five countries, 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:37.680 ranging from Kuwait to Israel, Russia and the UK. Syria 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:41.719 said it had received offers of help from China, Russia, Lebanon, Algeria, 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:45.280 and the United Arab Immirance. Aid from around the world 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:49.880 is thankfully heading towards Turkey and Syria, and some seventy 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:55.680 countries and fourteen international organizations have offered their assistance. Here's 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:59.920 a roundup of some of the latest pledges. There is 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:03.960 a Hungarian rescue team of fifty people, including five military 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:07.520 doctors and to search dogs. South Korea plans to offer 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:11.280 humanitarian aid worth five million to Turkey and send about 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:14.600 a hundred and ten disaster relief workers and military personnel 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:18.640 to support its search and rescue work. You may notice 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:21.040 that I'm only saying they're sending aid to Turkey and 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:24.240 a couple of these, and I will get into why 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:28.520 in a little bit, but to continue, the Palestinian International 0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:32.880 Corporation Agency will deploy seventy experts to the quake later 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.440 this week, sending two crews comprised of the Civil Defense, 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:39.640 Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Red Cross. As well 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:43.120 as doctors and engineers. There are also teams from the 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:46.840 Palestinian Red Crescent and they are carrying out earthquake rescue 0:13:46.840 --> 0:13:50.400 and relief operations and the Palestinian refugee camps and the 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:55.680 surrounding areas in Syria. At least three Palestinian refugee camps 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:59.520 in Syria were struck by the earthquake. Pakistan deployed to 0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:03.400 content engines of emergency services to Turkey. China said it 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.520 will send about five point nine million dollars worth of 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:09.920 aid to Turkey, while also coordinating with Syria for emergency 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:14.600 supplies and accelerating ongoing food aid projects to Israeli aid 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:17.080 groups chartered a special flight to Gauzi and tep on 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:21.640 Tuesday to bring personnel and equipment to victims. Germany's Federal 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:24.400 Agency for Technical Relief is sending a team of fifty 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:27.960 recovery experts to Turkey. The Dalai Lama committed to sending 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:31.920 rescue and relief efforts early today, and Taiwan increased its 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:35.080 donation to Turkey from two hundred thousand to two million 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:39.600 dollars and it dispatched about a hundred and thirty rescue teams. 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:44.120 Indonesia also supplied aid for Turkey. The Vice President of 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:48.360 Indonesia highlighted the urgency of dispatching humanitarian aid to Turkey 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:51.440 to return the support granted by the country to Indonesia 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:55.120 during their times of need over natural disasters in the past. 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.840 Canada also pledged seven point five million dollars to earth 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:03.920 quake relief. Egypt offered relief assistance to Syria in the 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:08.400 wake of this earthquake. Ukraine will send eight seven emergency 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:11.280 staff workers to Turkey to assist with the relief efforts 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:15.920 and not just countries, but also companies and nonprofits have 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:19.920 offered their help. This week. For example, Amazon announced that 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:23.720 it will help the victims of Turkey earthquake by donating food, medicine, 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:29.280 and equipment from its Istanbul warehouse. Amazon has about two 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:32.600 thousand employees in Turkey, and in a statement on Monday, 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:36.240 it said that it activated its quote disaster relief capabilities 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:40.760 and was preparing to donate relief items including blankets, tents, food, 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:45.480 baby food, and medicines. Even here in the US, the 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:48.480 Virginia Task Force one is sending a crew of seventy 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:52.000 nine members and six dogs to Turkey, and there are 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.960 seventy eight members of the l A County Fire Department 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:59.120 who left Monday evening to Turkey. And then there's Greece, 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:02.000 who set aside tensions with Turkey to send aid. But 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:06.440 helping Syria, they said, is more complicated. Despite its tensions 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:09.680 with Turkey, Greece was among the countries that have dispatched 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:14.440 help to the country, but conflict torn Northwest Syria makes 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:18.200 the same efforts more complicated, the Prime Minister said. Grace 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:21.080 and Turkey, he said, are quote neighbors who need to 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:23.840 help each other through difficult times. This is not the 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.880 first time earthquakes have struck our countries. This is a 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:29.640 time to temporarily set aside our differences and try to 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:34.000 address what is a very, very urgent situation. He continued 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:37.880 to explain that in Syria, however, there is no official 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:41.040 person or official from the government to have a dialogue with, 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:43.800 and no assurance that aid will make it to the 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:47.560 impacted area and people, and that makes relief efforts hard 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.760 to pull off. No country on its own has the 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:54.400 ability to actually make these sort of arrangements. That's why 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:57.800 I think it is important that these negotiations could take 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:00.480 place either through the U N or through the European 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:04.520 Union by pulling resources. I would not feel confident having 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.280 these sort of discussions at a bilateral level. He also 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:12.439 added that he has not directly communicated with Damascus. He 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:16.000 went on to say that quote, I want to stress this, 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.159 this is not about geopolitics. This is not about recognizing 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:21.800 any sort of regime. This is about saving people and 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:25.520 horrible conditions who desperately need our assistance. So the scale 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:28.359 of aid being offered is going to require a large 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:32.320 coordination effort as well as delicate diplomatic maneuvers to supply 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:35.160 aid to Syria, where the leadership of A. Charles said 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:38.720 is not recognized in the West. It's not recognized for 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:42.320 me either, and many Syrians feel the same way. But 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:44.720 that is the monster that we are currently dealing with 0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:47.200 and there's not much we can do about that at 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:50.600 this certain point in time. And so, as I mentioned, 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:52.679 the Syrian side of the border is going to be 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:56.560 a challenge since the worst affected areas contain hundreds of 0:17:56.600 --> 0:17:59.560 thousands of Syrian refugees that are locked in a war 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:04.040 zone and still facing attacks from Syrian government forces. Aid 0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:06.880 agencies reported that some of the roads from Turkey into 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:10.160 Syria were blocked, including the main cross border crossing used 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:14.520 by international aid agencies. The White Helmets said hundreds of 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.320 families were still trapped in the aftermath of the earthquake. 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:22.199 They also added that terrible weather conditions, including freezing temperatures, 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:26.439 had compounded the crisis, and they're continuing rescue operations in 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:31.800 Syria despite great difficulties in aftershocks, they said. The White 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:35.400 Helmets also urged the Assad regime and Russia to refrain 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:38.680 from military activity, and they affected areas in order to 0:18:38.720 --> 0:18:42.119 allow international groups to unify and help the people affected. 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:47.240 A spokesperson from the White Helmets said, our teams responded 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:50.280 and until now many families are under the rubble. Our 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:53.720 teams are trying hard to find all the casualties. Northwest 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:56.840 Syria is now a disaster area. We need help from 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:01.199 everyone to save our people. I think this would be 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:05.280 a moment to take a little break. I don't have 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:09.240 the capacity or emotional bandwidth to think of a clever segue. 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:23.240 So here are some ads and we are back. We're 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:27.280 talking about the difficulty sending aid to Syria along the 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:32.080 Turkey Syrian border. Last month, actually, the UN Security Council 0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:35.600 agree to allow aid into Northwest Syria from Turkey across 0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:41.520 one border, crossing Bablahalla, surprising no one. The Syrian regime 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:45.520 has been resistant to allowing aid into a region serving 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:48.880 more than four million of its people because it regards 0:19:48.920 --> 0:19:53.440 the aid as undermining Syrian sovereignty and reducing its chances 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:58.520 of winning back control of the region. Yes, that is correct. 0:19:59.280 --> 0:20:02.040 The Syria government doesn't want to help more than four 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:05.440 million of its own people because one day it wants 0:20:05.480 --> 0:20:11.639 to control them again. Are you fucking kidding me? I? 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:16.760 I don't understand that malignant desire to rule over a 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:19.919 land that you have destroyed, in a people that you 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:26.440 have murdered. I don't get the fucking point, but regardless, 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:29.600 that is one of the many reasons why getting aid 0:20:29.640 --> 0:20:32.720 into Syria is going to be much more complicated than 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:37.800 getting aid into Turkey. Additionally, Mark Locock, the former head 0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:42.200 of U and Humanitarian Affairs, said the area's worst affected 0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:44.800 by the earthquake inside Syria look to be run by 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:48.040 the Turkish controlled opposition and not by the Syrian government. 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:51.480 It is going to require Turkish acquiescence to aid in 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:54.840 these areas. It is unlikely the Syrian government will do 0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:58.560 much to help. Yes, Mark, I think you're right. The 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:02.840 Syrian government is and gonna do shit if anything. Said 0:21:02.920 --> 0:21:05.840 is probably happy seeing all these people dying, because that's 0:21:05.880 --> 0:21:10.919 his whole mmm, just to kill the Syrian people anyway. 0:21:11.119 --> 0:21:14.160 A video from a hospital posted by the Syrian American 0:21:14.200 --> 0:21:18.440 Medical Society showed that it was immensely crowded. They said, 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:21.920 our hospitals are overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways. There 0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:25.160 is an immediate need for trauma supplies and a comprehensive 0:21:25.200 --> 0:21:29.640 emergency response to save lives. And treat the injured. Initial 0:21:29.680 --> 0:21:32.920 needs are for tens of thousands of tents, heaters for 0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:36.879 the tents, tens of thousands of blankets, thermal clothes, ready 0:21:36.920 --> 0:21:40.600 to eat food, and basic first aid kits. A unit 0:21:40.680 --> 0:21:43.719 of representative in Aleppo said that the hospitals in Syria 0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:48.480 are absolutely overloaded. Hospitals are full of patients with trauma, 0:21:48.680 --> 0:21:52.040 broken bones and lacerations, and some people are going to 0:21:52.080 --> 0:21:54.520 the hospital to seek help for the mental trauma they 0:21:54.600 --> 0:22:00.000 endured after the earthquake struck, the UNSEAT representative Angela Kearney said, 0:22:00.000 --> 0:22:03.720 and while hospitals are functioning, the task has been overwhelming. 0:22:04.600 --> 0:22:08.320 Describing the scene in Aleppo when the earthquake struck on Monday, 0:22:08.560 --> 0:22:11.800 Kearnie said, children who have already been traumatized by war 0:22:12.240 --> 0:22:17.160 were bewildered. They didn't know what was happening. Kearnie said 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:19.800 that on Monday morning, when UNISEEF began its work in 0:22:19.840 --> 0:22:22.760 the area, there were seven schools in Aleppo that are 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:26.840 being used as shelters. By Tuesday morning, that number grew 0:22:26.880 --> 0:22:30.480 to sixty seven and currently it is nearly two hundred 0:22:31.600 --> 0:22:34.200 and all of those schools that are partially damaged. There 0:22:34.200 --> 0:22:37.480 are families there who left their apartments left their houses 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:41.320 with just their pajamas, she said. She also added that 0:22:41.400 --> 0:22:44.280 while aid is starting to go into the affected areas, 0:22:44.400 --> 0:22:48.240 there are still a desperate need for blankets, food, clean water, 0:22:48.359 --> 0:22:52.760 medical care, and nutritional care. She said that water, sanitation 0:22:52.880 --> 0:22:56.200 and nutrition needs are the most urgent. The aid is 0:22:56.240 --> 0:22:59.119 starting to go in, but it is overwhelming. The needs 0:22:59.240 --> 0:23:03.120 are very great. There are discussions under way to open 0:23:03.200 --> 0:23:06.040 aid corridors from the government controlled parts of Syria to 0:23:06.200 --> 0:23:10.760 the rebel held areas. Hammad Hammoud, Syria Country manager at 0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:14.080 the Norwegian Red Cross, said that he hopes with the 0:23:14.080 --> 0:23:17.840 help and efforts from humanitarian communities, this would happen in 0:23:17.880 --> 0:23:22.040 the coming days, and he said currently nothing has moved there, 0:23:22.840 --> 0:23:25.560 but there are discussions about moving aid and access to 0:23:25.600 --> 0:23:29.080 these areas. He continued to say, after being asked if 0:23:29.080 --> 0:23:32.440 the Syrian government in Damascus has been helpful to these areas, 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:35.399 he said they have stated that they are open to 0:23:35.520 --> 0:23:39.600 cross line intervention, meaning from government held areas to these 0:23:39.640 --> 0:23:43.480 non government held areas. They are open to it. They're 0:23:43.480 --> 0:23:47.639 not doing ship though obviously. Earlier today, the head of 0:23:47.680 --> 0:23:52.040 the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which described itself as an 0:23:52.040 --> 0:23:56.840 independent and volunteer based humanitarian organization, said that the organization 0:23:57.040 --> 0:24:00.600 is ready to immediately send aid convoys to rebel old areas, 0:24:00.720 --> 0:24:04.840 including Islib through the u N. Hamoud added that the 0:24:04.920 --> 0:24:08.879 humanitarian situation is worsening. He said we are in a 0:24:09.000 --> 0:24:13.280 race against time. In describing the rescue and search operations, 0:24:13.320 --> 0:24:16.080 Hamoud said that due to the lack of machinery, most 0:24:16.119 --> 0:24:18.160 of the work on clearing the rubble is done by 0:24:18.200 --> 0:24:22.159 hand and the cold weather conditions are not helping. He 0:24:22.240 --> 0:24:25.199 also added that the buildings are already weakened because of 0:24:25.240 --> 0:24:28.879 eleven years of war. In addition to the thousands of 0:24:28.920 --> 0:24:31.760 people that have been lost to this tragedy, there are 0:24:31.800 --> 0:24:34.919 also some cultural sites that have been permanently damaged in 0:24:34.960 --> 0:24:39.760 both Turkey and Syria. UNESCO, the United Nations Cultural Organization, 0:24:40.200 --> 0:24:43.880 said it's going to provide assistance following the cultural site damage. 0:24:44.440 --> 0:24:48.000 UNESCO said that it is particularly concerned about the situation 0:24:48.080 --> 0:24:50.639 in the ancient city of Aleppo, which is on the 0:24:50.720 --> 0:24:54.399 list of World Heritage and Danger. It added that the 0:24:54.440 --> 0:24:59.160 citadel had significant damage, the old city wall has collapsed, 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:02.520 and several building and the suits have been weakened. In 0:25:02.560 --> 0:25:05.879 the Turkish city of Diyad Beka Unit School lamented the 0:25:05.920 --> 0:25:09.119 collapse of several buildings. The city is home to the 0:25:09.119 --> 0:25:12.320 World Heritage Site, the Yabucat of Fortress and the he 0:25:12.520 --> 0:25:16.240