Ironically, the only thing that could cross the Syrian-Turkish border in recent days the corpses of Syrian refugees who had died in the earthquake in Turkey. Warned relatives on the Syrian side of the border received the black bags to give the victims an orderly burial in their homeland as best they could.
Living people were not allowed to cross the border and neither were aid supplies, although millions of Syrians in northwestern Syria have been eagerly awaiting aid for days. They were also badly affected by Monday’s earthquakes. Not only is there an urgent need for food, blankets and fuel, but also for excavators and cranes to recover the victims from under the remains of collapsed buildings. This is often impossible with bare, cold hands.
Only Thursday, three days after the heavy quakes, passed the first United Nations aid convoy the border crossing at Bab al-Hawa. But the six trucks in total are just a drop in the ocean compared to the needs of the millions of residents of the vast territory, which is partly in the hands of the Syrian government and partly in the hands of the rebels and the Turkish army.
Road damaged
This slowness is partly due to practical obstacles as a result of the earthquakes. For example, the road to Bab al-Hawa was initially too badly damaged to be used by the earthquakes. Many Syrian customs officials were also absent for days because they themselves had become victims or were busy saving their own families.
But political sensitivities arising from the bloody war that has been raging in Syria since 2011 also caused delays, while aid was most needed immediately after the disaster. It is not for nothing that the Syria envoy of the United Nations, Geir Pedersen, urged all parties to help the earthquake victims in Geneva on Thursday not to politicize. “We must do everything we can to make sure that there is no obstacle to the aid that is vital in Syria,” he said.
Stubborn refusal
For years, one of the biggest obstacles to aid to Syria has been the stubborn refusal by President Assad’s regime to allow humanitarian aid into areas still held by the rebels. It is precisely there that the need is greatest and it is precisely there that the earthquake has now hit hard. Of the 4.5 million inhabitants in Idlib, some 2.9 million are refugees who have fled to this part of Syria to escape Assad’s clutches. They often camp in tents or dilapidated houses. Many of them survive only with help from abroad.
The Syrian government, supported by Russia, insists that all aid to Syria be routed through Damascus. To reinforce this demand, the regime also only allows supplies through one border crossing in the north, that of Bab al-Hawa. This is laid down in a resolution by the UN Security Council every six months. Even after the earthquake, Assad does not want to ease access, although the Turks say they are willing to open more border posts.
Incidentally, victims in the area under the control of Assad’s government have also received very little help, although some rescue teams from Russia, among others, have arrived in the hard-hit city of Aleppo.
Only on Thursday did the first UN aid convoy to Syria cross the Turkish border.
As in Turkey, many people have now died under the ruins that could have been saved with timely available resources.
Assad’s regime is trying to use the earthquake to break out of its isolation. His UN envoy said the government is ready to “cooperate with those who want to help the Syrians.”
Damascus can already point to some successes. For the first time since taking office in 2014, Egyptian President Sisi called Assad this week. Sisi expressed his condolences for the earthquake deaths and promised to send relief teams. The King of Bahrain also sought direct contact for the first time. The United Arab Emirates, which has already normalized relations with Syria, pledged $50 million in aid. Saudi Arabia also promised aid. The Chief of the Syrian Red Crescent, the Arab equivalent of the Red Cross, on Tuesday called on European countries to lift their sanctions against Syria now.
No aid to Assad’s regime
The latter will not happen and there will be no close cooperation between Western countries with the regime of President Assad. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday that his country will provide aid for earthquake victims despite economic sanctions. “I want to underline here that these funds obviously go to the Syrian people – not to the regime. There will be no change in that.”
A spokesman in Paris also announced that French aid will only go through local Syrian NGOs. “Unlike Bashar al-Assad, we work for the benefit of the Syrian people,” he said. But such tough language cannot disguise the fact that aid on this basis usually has a rather limited reach.
On Wednesday, the Syrian regime submitted a formal request to the European Union for emergency aid. Brussels then pledged support for Syria of more than three million euros, although it is not the intention that the regime determines what happens to the money. Individual member states also promised aid, the Netherlands ten million euros.
The EU wants to monitor whether this money is well spent. Whether this will succeed is a question the international community has been wrestling with for some time. The regime and its allies often manage to benefit more from aid funds than foreign donors would like.
“It is a difficult discussion in the aid to such countries, which also plays a role in our relationship with the Taliban,” said a Western diplomat who wishes to remain anonymous. “On the one hand you have the humanitarian imperative. But how much do you admit? Where do you draw your red lines?”
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