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The Turkish community in Germany on effective help for the people in the earthquake area
Mr. Sahin, how can Germany help those affected in Turkey?
We believe that financial help would be more effective for people. Recent developments also confirm this opinion. Especially clothing donations are not very helpful at the moment. The organizations in Turkey can use financial aid quickly and directly. Relief supplies such as medicines, suitable winter clothing, power banks, generators and tents are currently needed.
It is reported that donations in kind are not arriving in Turkey. What do you think?
The topic of donations in kind is very complicated, certain procedures by consulates are required for this. Cleanliness is particularly important when it comes to clothing, and rightly so. When delivering the donations to Turkey, customs conditions have to be met, which is not easy to solve in terms of time. Important steps were taken in Frankfurt in this regard. Turkish Airlines is working with the Consulate General and 85 tons of relief supplies including more than 2000 generators collected with the support of citizens reached Turkey by plane.
What can the German government do to facilitate aid to the earthquake area?
The German government must take measures to facilitate the transport of goods to Turkey. The aid must go through customs quickly and without problems. In addition, we should grant visa facilitation to earthquake victims who want to come to Germany. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Germany has stated on this subject that the situation of the earthquake victims will be taken into account. But the procedure is still very difficult. Those who wish to come need to obtain official documents such as bank details. That will lengthen the process. For this reason we have called for the support of a petition. We are also in contact with representatives of the ministry on this subject.
Interview: Rain October Tea