The last few days and weeks have been extremely hard following on from the awful Earthquakes that struck Turkiye and Syria which has affected over 23 million people, with many unfortunately losing their lives. Even though we are many miles away, we have received many messages of condolences, love and support since news of the first earthquake, and we want to thank each and every one of you for those messages.
The support that Turkiye has received from the Global population has been huge with many countries sending much needed supplies, rescue workers, machinery, equipment and funds to help re-build, and it was only a few days ago that the EU has pledged further support, saying that is ready to lend a hand and cover a significant proportion of the re-building cost, via a donors conference along with the help of the International Community & Global Relief Organizations. The event is due to take place in Brussels on the 16th March.
Representatives from the EU which included the European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi and the Minister for the International Development Corporation & Foreign Trade of Sweden Johan Forssel, met with Senior Turkish Officials to discuss the plan which included both short & long term assistance.
The message is ‘Solidarity’ said Forssel – highlighting that Turkiye is a close friend and ally of the EU. ‘Assisting them is a top priority for our governments’ he went on to add. Türkiye’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who was also at the meeting, gave his thanks to the EU quoting that ‘The EU has shown serious solidarity with us in our difficult time – I want to thank the EU member and candidate states as well as the European Institutions’.
On a separate note to the further help from the EU as a whole, Germany will also support both Turkiye and Syria with an additional €50m, bringing their total contributions to around €108m. On a recent visit to Pazarcık, in southern Türkiye, Annalena Baerbock (the Foreign Minister) made it quite clear that ‘we as a global community see this catastrophe and we support the population’. Germany have also gone step further and will be granting three month temporary visas to Turkish and Syrian victims with family in Germany.
*credit to Hurriyet Daily News for the Featured Image.
