EU Hosts Donor Conference To Raise Aid for Earthquake Victims in Turkey, Syria

The European Union is hosting a donor conference in Brussels today in order to help mobilize support from the international community in dealing with the devastating aftermath of the massive earthquake that struck northern Turkey and southern Syria. “The aim of the donors’ conference is to raise funds and coordinate the relief response in the areas affected in both countries,” the European Commission, the EU’s executive, said in a statement. The conference was organized in coordination with Turkish authorities. “Six weeks after the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, we come together to support the survivors of this tragedy. Our solidarity will continue to be as strong as it was in the first hours after the earthquake. The people in Turkey and Syria should know that we are with them for the long run. I invite all nations and all donors, public and private, to contribute and honor the memory of the lives lost, the heroism of the first responders and most importantly to build together a better future for the survivors,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in a statement. In total, close to 8.6 million euro, or over $9 million, of EU humanitarian aid has been allocated to respond to the immediate needs of the population in Turkey, and some 10 million euro, or $10.7 million, have been immediately mobilized to respond to the immediate consequences of the earthquake in Syria, according to the commission. Last month’s massive 7.8-magnitude quake and its thousands of aftershocks, some very powerful, destroyed cities, knocking down thousands of buildings and killing more than 50,000 people across southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria. The United Nations’ emergency appeal for $1 billion for Turkey and $397 million for Syria has been slow to raise the necessary funds; the UN says the appeal for Turkey has so far raised just 16% of the funds and the appeal for Syria has raised 72%.