The United Nations, the United Kingdom and Israel this week pledged to provide continued support to Türkiye as the country tries to recover from two earthquakes that left thousands dead in its southeast.
Messages of solidarity and heaps of humanitarian aid have been pouring into Türkiye since the Feb. 6 tremors killed at least 45,089 people and injured more than 108,000 others across 11 provinces.
The earthquakes, the fifth deadliest in the world since 2000, also claimed over 5,800 lives in neighboring Syria’s northwestern region, which had already been ravaged by a decade-long civil war.
U.N. Resident Coordinator in Türkiye Alvaro Rodriguez was touring a tent city set up in a stadium in the southern Hatay province on Thursday as he promised the world body would be there for the disaster-hit country “as long as it needs."
"You must remember that Türkiye is a founding member of the United Nations. So we've been here since that time and we will continue to be here as long as we have support for the Turkish government and people," he told reporters.
According to Rodriguez, the U.N. operates eight field hospitals in the city, with a ninth on the way.
“The U.N. activities in the province include search and rescue efforts, a humanitarian response such as food and medicine deliveries, as well as recovery and reconstruction,” he explained.
"Now we hope that the second phase is the humanitarian phase (that) will last roughly three months. Then we start another phase which is recovery and reconstruction. And other agencies of the U.N. will be involved, too,” he said.
“The agencies will be focusing on livelihoods, on reconstruction, environment, for example, so that we can restore the economy of the 11 provinces that were affected."
Days after the disaster, the U.N. launched an appeal for $1 billion to cover a three-month period in the troubled region to address immediate needs, which primarily include shelter and food. The proceeds from the campaign go to various organizations, with up to 40% of it spared for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Rodriguez previously informed.
The European Union too unveiled a donor conference scheduled on March 16, calling on the international community to mobilize funds and coordinate for the displaced and the reconstruction efforts, for which Rodriguez stressed the EU should be prepared for in full.
The U.K. and its European allies to have vowed to cooperate closely to assist Türkiye during the donor conference in mid-March, according to Britain’s top diplomat.
"We will work very closely with our friends in Europe to make sure we continue supporting Türkiye through the response to this earthquake and then ultimately, of course, to the rebuilding of the homes that the people who have lost their homes and so desperately in need,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Anadolu Agency (AA) on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi.
"Türkiye is an important friend and ally to the United Kingdom and when we saw the terrible earthquakes that had hit Türkiye, it was heartbreaking. So we were very keen to give support quickly with the search and rescue teams, but also to give humanitarian support,” he noted.
Commenting on calls to initiate a visa scheme for the quake victims, Cleverly said he does not have any news about any changes to the visa relationships with Türkiye.
"But we know that Türkiye will be an important partner and friend and ally to the U.K. for years to come,” Cleverly added.
“And of course, we want to make sure that Turkish people and British people get to visit each other's countries, perhaps work in each other's countries and get to know each other better. And this will always be at the forefront of our thinking when we look at how we work with Türkiye in the future."
After Ankara made an international call for help as part of its Level 4 alert after the quakes, a team of 77 people, including doctors, firefighters and engineers, from U.K. International Search and Rescue (ISAR) was deployed in Hatay.
The British Foreign Secretary said his government is keen to hold strong relations between the two states and praised the contribution of Turkish society in the U.K.
"We very much value our close relationship with Türkiye and there are many people of Turkish heritage in the U.K. They contribute enormously to British society and the British economy. We always make sure that we find ways of working closely with our friends,” he concluded.
Britain has sent 35,000 thermal blankets, 2,500 tents, dignity kits and hygiene kits, designed to help in the current stage of the operation, and currently, 150 members of the British team are working on the ground, including in the field hospital and emergency medical clinics, “doing everything they can” to help treat wounds.
Late in February, the U.K. also announced a 25 million pound ($30 million) aid package to support quake victims in both Türkiye and Syria while British people raised 85 million pounds as part of donation drives.
Israeli officials too reiterated solidarity with Türkiye, saying they will be supporting Türkiye “for as long as needed."
Israel was among the first countries that extended help to the country, with the government dispatching 45 planes in total, carrying search and rescue teams, more than 400 tons of aid supplies, 400 personnel and a field hospital, which was set up in Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the quakes.
Karmit Berlinsky, a senior emergency operations officer with IsraAid, an Israel-based nonprofit organization, said their teams were deployed to the disaster zone just a day after the quakes and brought aid supplies, water filtration systems, hygiene kits, sleeping bags and mats.
"We plan to stay for as long as we are needed here and that we can contribute. We have been deeply, deeply moved by the strength of the Turkish people and how they help themselves as well as their neighbors to overcome this tragedy," she told AA in Adana, one of the 11 southern provinces struck by the tremors.
Israeli officials, featuring the Agency for International Development Cooperation (Mashav), the Israeli Embassy in Ankara, and IsraAid of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) gathered on Thursday to donate 600 tents to Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
"Israel is really looking forward to continuing support for communities affected by this earthquake, for as long as we are needed here," she said.
Nadav Markman, the deputy ambassador of Israel, said bilateral cooperation has been exceptional from the moment the disaster hit the region.
"The people, the governments started to get ready to send aid and the cooperation from the people on the ground. The rescuers working shoulder by shoulder, Israelis and Turkish, and the local governments ... cooperation was 100% at all times," he said.
He informed that the Israeli teams were one of the first ones to be on the ground and rescued 19 people alive from the rubble of collapsed buildings.
"I'd just like to say that, you know, our hearts are with the Turkish people at this time. We will continue to be here and assist as much as we can. We're here to also help the local economy at this difficult time ... we will do everything we can to assist the Turkish people," he said.
