After the two massive earthquakes on Monday 6.2 in Kurdistan, Syria and Turkey, thousands of people have already lost their lives. Many more are injured, missing or affected by the devastating consequences. The numbers are increasing day by day. Entire villages and neighborhoods have been destroyed. With winter temperatures and snow, hundreds of thousands of people are now struggling to survive in the cold.
As the Women Defend Rojava campaign, we are deeply saddened. We express our condolences to all affected people and remember the victims of the disaster these days. Our thoughts and hearts are with the Kurdish people.
The earthquakes occurred in Northern Kurdistan and Rojava, specifically in the border region between Turkey and Syria. While we see new horrific images from Northern Kurdistan every day, there has been very little information about the situation in Rojava.
The situation in Northern Kurdistan is devastating. There is information that 100,000 people are still buried under the rubble. Even if the trigger for this disaster was an earthquake, we cannot understand the extent of the destruction without the political developments in Kurdistan. A large number of the people who lost their lives in the cities are people who had to flee their villages in the 1990s to escape attacks by the Turkish state. The destruction and burning of over a thousand villages at that time led to the forced relocation of large parts of the Kurdish people. From then on, they had to live in dilapidated high-rise buildings in the cities. High-rise buildings that have now collapsed like houses of cards as a result of the earthquake.
Even six days after the earthquake on Monday, there is no help whatsoever from the Turkish state in the affected areas. The obligatory earthquake tax is used for years above all for arming the military further, in order to lead thereby war in Kurdistan. In a rescue of humans there is no interest. Quite the opposite. The destruction of numerous Kurdish cities and villages, as well as the associated expulsion of the people is an objective of Turkish state policy. It is part of the strategy to depopulate Kurdistan and to repopulate it with Turks and Arabs.
For us it is clear that in this catastrophe no help will come from the state. It is up to the people, to counter the destruction of the earthquake. To do this, we need donations that go directly to the people on the ground. A large part of the governmental donation campaigns will pass on the collected money directly to the Turkish regime. We see a great danger in this. Because it is clear that these funds will not be used for, but against the Kurdish people. That is why we call on everyone to donate directly to Heyva Sor a Kurdistanê e.V.
Therefore, we call on all aid organizations to travel to Kurdistan and support the people directly and on the ground.
So far, there is very little information about the situation in Rojava. Due to the embargo and the border closure at the Syrian-Turkish and Syrian-Iraqi border, aid deliveries are currently massively impaired. Therefore, we demand an immediate end to the embargo and the opening of the borders! Furthermore, we demand an immediate stop of the Turkish attacks on northern and eastern Syria!
Even while the terrible pictures from the earthquake regions were shown worldwide, the Turkish military simultaneously bombed places in northern Syria from the air. It shows once again the inhuman face of the Turkish regime that we have known for years. The states’ condolences to the Kurdish people cannot be taken seriously if the international community does not stop these attacks. We demand the immediate closure of airspace and a no-fly zone over northern and eastern Syria. So that the rescue work can continue and the people can finally live in peace.
The earthquakes are taking place at a time when the Kurdish people are facing a war of extermination by the Turkish state and all its international allies.
The earthquakes are on a scale that will permanently change the situation in Kurdistan. It is our responsibility to stand by the Kurdish people in this situation, to inform them about the developments and to ensure that the states cannot exploit the situation for their own power interests.
Let us show our friends that we share the pain and despair and stand by their side. Long live international solidarity!
Heyva Sor a Kurdistanê UK (Kurdish Red Moon):
Registeres Charity No: 1093741
The Co-operative Bank
Bank Sort code: 089299
Bank Account No: 65863091
IBAN: GB55 CPBK 0892 9965 8630 91
BIC: CPBK GB 22
Germany:
Heyva Sor a Kurdistanê e.V.
Kreissparkasse Köln
Wilhelmstr. 12
53840 Troisdorf
IBAN: DE49 3705 0299 0004 0104 81
BIC/SWIFT: COKSDE33XXX
Paypal: www.paypal.me /heyvasorakurdistane
