Toys for children, victims of the earthquake.
Aftershocks continue to rattle Southern Turkey after the massive earthquake on Monday 6 February in Turkey/Syria where the death toll has climbed to over 50,000 dead, over a hundred thousand injured and more than a million rendered homeless.
During a soccer match between Besiktas and Antalyaspor, fans threw thousands of soft toys onto the pitch to donate to children affected by the earthquakes with criticism of the relief efforts by the Turkish government for the victims of the earthquake.
Because the government does not allow freedom of assembly and expression, football games are seen as opportunities by crowds who’d like to chant protests.
The Turkish government has expanded a criminal probe into individuals responsible for buildings levelled by the deadly earthquake that has left millions without homes.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan has acknowledged the shortcomings of his government’s response to the disaster. He is due to face the elections after being 20 years in power on, 14 May where calls have continued for the government to resign over its response to the disaster.
Community support for the victims of the disaster has been swift from Australia with donations of cash, clothing and sleeping bags on their way already.
Muslim bodies including AFIC and ANIC have called on the Juma congregations today at Mosques Australia-wide to pray for the victims and donate generously to reputable charitable and humanitarian organisations helping the victims of this disaster.
The number of injured people in war-torn Syria is still rising fast across all affected territories some areas are controlled by the government while others are held by the rebels.
Rescue teams have now stopped digging out survivors including children fighting against time and hampered by cold weather with a lack of power and heavy equipment, especially in Syria.
Earlier after the earthquake, tens of thousands of survivors were evacuated from the affected Turkish cities with the government in emergency action mode.
However, due to the conflict in Syria, the victims especially in rebel-held areas have nowhere to go and are without shelter, power and external aid.
It took more than three days after the earthquakes for the first delivery of aid supplies from the United Nations to cross into northwest Syria yesterday from Turkey.
The flow of humanitarian aid was disrupted due to logistical issues and damage to the road connecting Turkey to the UN transhipment hub Turkey.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for more aid access to north-western Syria from Turkey so that delivery of aid can be facilitated through more than one border crossing.
Really sad, and we must all urgently reach out to help our Muslim community as soon as possible. I am getting emails from various aid agencies for donations, and would like some opinion on which organization is most suited for specifically that region.
Perhaps AMUST can take a lead in compiling a list of region-specific aid agencies whenever such an emergency happens.