Belgian cash for quake victims
The Belgian government is releasing 5 million euros to pay for humanitarian aid for the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. The lion’s share, 4 million euros, will be spent in helping Syrian victims.
Announcing the news international development minister Gennez (Flemish socialist) said humanitarian need weas enormous and the situation in Syria is worse than in Turkey.
4 million euros goes to a UN fund supporting people in north western Syria but with aid workers based in Turkey. A further million euros is donated to the disaster fund of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent organisations.
“The situation in north western Syria was particularly difficult ahead of the quake” said Gennez. “People have little to nothing: no infrastructure, little access to electricity and clean water. There are also food shortages”.
“We shouldn’t leave the Syrian people to their own devices at this time”.
“The situation in Syria is worse than in Turkey because the Syrian government isn’t really present to support victims. The Syrian government is only seeking help for victims outside the war zone. Assad isn’t requesting any aid for areas the regime doesn’t control”.