The Earthquake in Syria..We Are Not Well, But We Are United

We no longer have extra items in our homes such as blankets, covers, not even a can of tuna, we are facing a catastrophe, either we fall all together or we survive all together" said Sarah, a volunteer in the civil groups for years.

The role of civil initiatives is considered a lifeline for the afflicted in Syria, due to the inability of the administrative authorities to secure the needs of the survivors and the affected. Experience and readiness for disasters in wartime helped in speeding up the response to the events of the earthquake that struck Syria.

Damascus Receives Aid

When we met Sarah, she was evidently tired, as she had been on alert since the moment of the earthquake. The residents of Damascus also woke up that night and were terrified and afraid.

She told us, "We suffer from many difficulties due to the scarcity of fuel, which makes it difficult for us to move around, in addition to the high prices and the exploitation of merchants, as the price of a blanket in Damascus (in Harika) has reached 100,000 pounds and more." 

In Syria today, the price of the dollar has exceeded 6,000 Syrian pounds.

In the south of the country, specifically in As-Suwayda, we met Wajeha (33 years old), who launched a volunteer initiative in the city.

"There is no family in As-Suwayda that did not donate a sum of money, even if it was a thousand pounds. Even children donate the money that they saved in their little collection boxes."

It turned out that there are nearly two cars that reach the earthquake-affected areas in Lattakia, Jableh and Aleppo.

Electronic Coordination to Support the People in Distress

She said, "We managed to provide aid to more than a hundred families, but the work requires more effort and coordination."

During our browsing of the initiatives that operate through social media pages, we spoke with Jafar, a journalist who resides in Damascus.

After circulating news about the sale of aid provided to people or the responsible authorities, Jafar decided to carry out the task of monitoring these pages to detect the thieves after confirming the information.

"There is a lot of false speech about this matter. All the phone numbers of those who claim to be influencers to report cases of corruption and possess the information did not respond to calls and their phones appeared outside the service of the network. They just want their pages to be famous." Jafar said.

After many attempts, he managed to reach a person who resides in the city of Jaramana and sell tents and some foodstuffs, but he fled as soon as he learned that Jafar and his friends were journalists.

Afflicted Areas

The first moments of the response are often not devoid of chaos and poor coordination, as everyone takes the initiative, and the same centre may receive multiple donations of the same kind, while some other centres may be deprived.

Majd sadly tells her story about the tears of a fifty-year-old man in the Northern Raml area of Lattakia, while he was handed over (a broadcloth coat): "While we were giving him the coat, a child rushed and stole it from old man's hands, so the men began to cry, which prompted all the beneficiaries to present their coats to the fifty-years-old man."

"While we were giving the coat, a child rushed and stole it from the old man's hands, and the man began to cry," Majd said.

In her talk, she confirmed the "poor coordination on the ground in distributing aid, as some regions may take what they need and more, but at the same time, people in some regions may sleep hungry because aid did not reach them."

Kamil (50 years old) continued Majd's talk, but this time from the city of Jableh, he says, “My brother, people only trust the youth who work, the foundations take pictures, collect data, and leave.

I am responsible for my words”. Regarding the situation in Jableh, he spoke about the leaning of some buildings days after the earthquake.

Hama Supports Aleppo and Latakia

Every city in Syria has its own local privacy, and the response and provision of aid must take into account this privacy, however, this does not happen in most cases.

Raya (a pseudonym) says, "in the shelter centre, we separated men from women, due to the privacy of the community and the residents."

She continued, "The situation in Hama is better than the rest of the regions, as the number of affected people is not large, and the city is capable of managing the crisis, and we are even working to send aid to both Latakia and Aleppo."

Raya fears that the crisis will not be managed quickly, she said, "If this situation is prolonged, we do not know what will happen within the upcoming days since we are at the beginning of the crisis and everyone is donating, hoping that the situation of Hama will remain stable."

Aleppo and the Great Losses

Bashar (25 years old), one of the volunteers who was affected by the earthquake, says that there is a large amount of aid arriving in Aleppo, "but the needs are still high, and sometimes we cannot cover some cases.

The feeling of helplessness (literally) influences us sometimes, but we are forced to be strong."

"Every house in Aleppo received two or more families, and the burden on the families has become very great, as they are economically distressed, besides the mistreatment by some mosque sheikhs and volunteers who demonstrate it in some places but disappear as soon as people attack them," he added.

In the same context, Lama, who is a civil society activist, talks about the importance of gendering aid to cover women's needs such as women's pads and underwear.

She emphasised that meeting the requirements of women is not considered a luxury, and must be put in all food baskets and with all volunteers.

Some women are shy to ask for these items, so I hope you will be our voice and these items will be available for us.

She concluded, "The shelter centres are not suitable for living, nor to stay in for a long time. People must be transported to places that preserve their dignity, especially women because the shelter centres are considered unsafe spaces for them, and with great crowds, the shelters may be exposed to destruction. As for returning to homes in the city of Aleppo, this is almost impossible."

The Affected People Resorted to the Cemeteries

"We are not well, but we are together," said Muhannad (a pseudonym), 55, with a voice mixed with bitterness and weeping, about his observations in the city of Aleppo.

The situation in Aleppo is horrific, as there is poverty and homelessness, everyone feels angry and let down," Muhannad said.

Muhannad works with the Circassian Charity Association, Homs branch, where it collected in-kind and financial donations for the people affected by the earthquake.

Muhannad, a volunteer in relief work from the city of Homs, continued saying, "A small child ran to me and said: sir, can I donate my pocket money handed me a sum of five thousand Syrian pounds, which was the most valuable in my opinion." Earthquake-affected shelters spread in the city of Aleppo, tents were installed everywhere in streets, public parks and even cemeteries.

Muhannad explained to Rozana the quick response of the contributors to the donation, as they collected about 13 tons of relief materials, which included food baskets, blankets, mattresses, winter clothes, medicines, and pads for women and children.

"Some donated money and some donated in-kind materials. All the residents of the Circassian villages in Homs donated without exception. We received small sums from very poor families who insisted on contributing, while a significant number of the city's residents participated." Muhannad said.

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Many buildings are at risk of collapse, as they have been cracked for years after the city witnessed the severest military operations.

The safety committees are still evacuating the buildings and working to demolish them due to huge cracks.

Most donations were distributed to the residents of the Ashrafieh and Al-Huluk neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo, and we delivered the beneficiaries their relief food baskets directly by hand.

In Syria, which is afflicted today by the earthquake, the Syrians are united in their pain in the various regions.