The scale of devastation in Turkey and Syria, speed of burials, and lack of resources for identification of earthquake victims raise concerns that families will struggle to find the remains of their loved ones
According to the latest statistics issued by the Syrian Civil [...]
The slow international response to the crisis in northwestern Syria after the February 6 earthquake highlights the central role of aid workers in both Turkey and Syria, whose staff raced to respond while being themselves impacted.
Cross-line aid convoys coming from northeastern Syria to support earthquake survivors in opposition and government-controlled areas have been stalled for days by both the Assad regime and Turkish-backed factions, in an apparent attempt to politicize and control aid flows in their respective areas.
As the earthquake emergency response in northwestern Syria focuses on rescue operations and relief, some local organizations in northwestern Syria are honing in on the disaster’s impact on children.
Rescue teams in several countries have mobilized to help Turkey rescue the victims of Monday’s devastating earthquake, but so far no aid or personnel have entered northwestern Syria, where residents are turning to displacement camps as a refuge.
Khaled and his three-year-old daughter Jawahir have only ever met on the phone. She was not yet born when he fled Syria in 2018, aiming to apply for family reunification with his wife and their daughter. But they missed a bureaucratic deadline, and for three years the family has been in limbo.
Through their own safe spaces and mutual aid, Syrian LGBTQ+ refugees navigate a triple nightmare: Lebanon’s economic collapse, aid budget cuts and a worsening climate for queer people in the country.
When Nisrine and her family made the decision to flee Lebanon for Denmark in 2015, there was a snag: Her 12-year-old daughter Nadine had to return to Syria to get a passport. The border closed, and Nisrine made the painful decision to leave her behind—temporarily, she thought. Seven years later, she is still fighting to reunite with her.
The issue of human rights is one card the Syrian opposition can play to obstruct moves towards normalization with Assad, but the end scenarios may not be in its favor, with a “piecemeal” political settlement not in accordance with Resolution 2254.
