Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
Fanpage.it interview with Andrea Iacomini, spokeswoman for UNICEF Italy, on the plight of children after the earthquake in Syria and Turkey: “Childhood must be protected before thinking about reconstruction. Syrian children in particular, who have already suffered the trauma of war, are now experiencing the same drama of death and destruction again.”
Turn on notifications to get updates
Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
“Before you think about it reconstruction, we must protect childhood. So work for identify minors and reunite them with your own family. The picture we are faced with is really bleak.”
To speak with Fanpage.it is Andrea Iacomini, speaker for UNICEF Italy, who took stock of the situation of the children involved in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the border area Syria And Turkey, resulting in death and destruction.
Andrea Iacomini (Facebook).
How many children are affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria?
Found the body of Angelo Zen, who disappeared after the earthquake in Turkey: the announcement of Tajani
“We know that seven million minors are affected, 4.6 million of them in the affected areas in Turkey and 2.5 in Syria. We do not have exact numbers of minors who were victims of the earthquake or injured, but we can say that there are millions of children who need them emergency aid after earthquake. The magnitude of this event was apocalyptic. Not to mention the number of those who are missing or left alone without their father or mother. In the first few days we said it was around 500, but in reality that’s a number that has been far exceeded, we’re talking about tens of thousands.
We also heard about kidnapped children…
“We have no evidence of that kidnappings. But it’s a risk you run when it comes to major emergencies. We also saw that at the beginning of the war Ukraine. It is clear that with landslides of this type, children on the street and without parents are at risk that many could disappear and cannot be registered and reunited with family through organizations like ours. Consequently, they are at risk of falling into the wrong hands of human trafficking and violence. This is of great concern to us because the scale of the phenomenon is enormous.”
What do you need at the moment? How can they be helped?
“Let’s start with the fact that we can’t go on international adoptions, if only because of long and cumbersome procedures to be followed which we cannot currently guarantee. Now they have to be recovered from the rubble and brought in safe places, such as shopping malls, hospitals, schools and what has not been destroyed, and above all they must be protected – that is the keyword – so they must also be registered and, if possible, reunited with relatives as they are held in structures that we share with the Turkish Ministry of Health. Many are minors nameless, but also in this case, in the most appropriate structures, a protection service will be triggered, waiting for news”.
The situation in Syria is particularly difficult. What can you tell us about it?
“The case of Syria is emblematic. Here every child under the age of 12 has seen nothing but conflicts, wars and shift. They have endured years of violence and destruction, economic conditions are poor and now that has arrived too. 10 million people are affected, including 2.5 children. What struck me most, however, is the fact that in the north-west of the country, 91% of the 4 million Syrians already in humanitarian need have been displaced. We had to provide medicine and blankets, try to repair the casualties with our rescuers and rebuild the roads. Syrian children who have already suffered the trauma of war are now reliving it same spectacle, made of Death And Destruction. Some of them also suffer from hypothermia and respiratory infections: the picture is grim”.
What is the first step to be taken after the rescue operations have been completed?
“Before you think about rebuilding, you have to protect childhood, then identify the minors and reunite them with their families and give them psychological support. It’s an irreparable trauma, so we’ve also trained teachers in this spirit to help these little ones start a journey retraining and they recover to a new normal. The states take care of the reconstruction”.