Belgium releases 5 million euros in emergency aid for Turkey and Syria | Interior

Of the emergency aid that Gennez is now releasing, 4 million euros will go to the United Nations cross-border fund for Syria, according to the minister a “lifeline for the distressed population in the conflict area”. One million euros will go to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), a fund that supports local Red Cross societies after natural and climate disasters. The planned Belgian contribution will be increased to 3.5 million euros in response to this devastating disaster and the humanitarian needs.

Both funds, says Gennez, focus on local aid organizations and NGOs, which know the local situation and the affected areas well, “and are therefore best placed to provide aid as quickly and efficiently as possible”.

“The hallucinatory images from Turkey and Syria leave no one unmoved. Thousands dead, tens of thousands injured, houses, hospitals and schools in ruins. Countless families who are forced to spend the night in the open air, while the temperature drops below zero and the snow is twenty centimeters thick. The humanitarian needs are huge, we must show solidarity with the people of Turkey and Syria and provide help quickly,” says Gennez.

She cites that the Turkish Red Crescent, which is supported by the DREF, has already mobilized more than 2,000 volunteers. In Syria, Red Crescent staff are also working hard to provide first aid, and that is anything but obvious, says Gennez. “The situation in north-western Syria was already very difficult before the earthquake. People have little or nothing there: no infrastructure, hardly any access to electricity or clean water, food shortages. (…) But this disaster threatens to turn a very difficult situation into a hopeless, so we must not leave the Syrian people to fend for themselves.”

Look. The Belgian aid workers of the B-FAST team have left for Turkey

Gennez points out that the blockades of the Assad regime mean that cross-border aid from the UN is a lifeline for the entire area. Following the request from European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic to strengthen Belgium’s engagement in Syria, she calls for the Turkish-Syrian border to be opened wider than is currently the case so that life-saving aid can reach the victims. “Geopolitical conflicts should not get in the way of helping people,” said Gennez.

In addition to the 5 million euros in emergency aid, our country also supports the Turkish and Syrian victims through various international and humanitarian organizations that are active in the two countries. It concerns organizations such as OCHA (the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in the Middle East (UNWRA ) and the World Food Program (WFP). Partner organizations of 11.11.11, such as Olive Branch, Basmeh & Zeitooneh, and Women Now, are also present and active in the region.

Finally, Belgium is also a donor to the UN emergency fund CERF. In 2023, Belgium will contribute 17 million euros. Yesterday, the CERF announced that it will release 25 million dollars (23.2 million euros) for the disaster.