The devastating earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border area triggers sympathy in many people and strengthens the desire to help. International aid began in the first few hours after the disaster. Germany is also sending relief supplies and dispatching experts to look for survivors under the rubble.
Among the population – especially those with family and friends in the earthquake area – there is also a desire to help. This is shown by collections of relief supplies in German cities, some of which reported full storage rooms after a few hours.
How useful are donations in kind for Turkey?
But such donations in kind are usually difficult to transport, the head of the aid organization Caritas International, Oliver Müller, warned on Wednesday of the Catholic News Agency (KNA). In his view, monetary donations are the most sensible way to help the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.
“Especially in Turkey, it is very possible to buy the necessary relief supplies – food, blankets, bandages – on the local markets,” emphasized the experienced disaster relief worker.
In the case of difficult-to-procure or high-quality relief supplies such as generators or construction machinery, private transport can make sense in individual cases. “But you also have to know exactly which machines are needed where. Coordination is crucial.” Transports to Syria are “almost impossible” anyway because of the difficult political situation.
Help for earthquake victims: These organizations collect donations
The experts from the German Donations Council and the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI) also recommend monetary donations. According to the website, the DZI checks whether organizations handle donations “carefully and responsibly” and awards the donation seal.
Donate money for Turkey: Beware of “free riders”
The DZI also advises those willing to make donations to donate to organizations that are familiar with the area, i.e. Turkey or Syria. Hasty donations are discouraged, since “free riders” try to get donations, especially in the event of major disasters.
There is also an increased risk when calling for donations on social networks. For such cases, the DZI has drawn up a “Checklist for safe donations”.
Attention: Register the export of monetary donations, otherwise there is a risk of fines
Private individuals who are supposed to bring monetary donations to the disaster area themselves must register them with customs for a sum of 10,000 euros or more.
As the main customs office in Frankfurt am Main explained, more and more air passengers are bringing donations to the affected areas. According to initial findings, however, the cash notification is sometimes not submitted for the donations.
According to customs, cash must be declared before entering the aviation security area. When registering, it makes sense to have documents ready that show the origin, intended use and beneficial owner of the funds.
In the event of non-declaration of cash, fines of up to one million euros threatened.
Aktion Deutschland Hilft distributes relief supplies in Turkey and Syria
The alliance Aktion Deutschland Hilft, to which several aid organizations belong, shows that the help from large organizations also arrives on site.
20 of them are already on site and distributing food, baby food, drinking water, hygiene needs as well as tents, blankets, thermal clothing, mattresses and radiant heaters to protect against the winter cold, the alliance announced on Thursday in Bonn. Helpers would also reach people in Syria.
Manuela Roßbach, head of Aktion Deutschland Hilft explained: “This help is only possible thanks to the many large and small donations that we receive minute by minute.”
The help is made more difficult by snowfall, cold weather and the partially destroyed infrastructure. In addition, some aid organizations felt the consequences of the earthquake themselves, for example because offices were damaged or there was a lack of water and electricity.
According to the information, the helpers include the Federal Association of Rescue Dogs, which sent 50 emergency services with a rescue dog squadron to Turkey on Monday evening.
On Wednesday night, the team managed to free a 16-year-old boy and a woman alive from the rubble in the Turkish province of Hatay after 50 hours.
According to the broadcaster TRT World, around 8,000 people were rescued from the rubble in Turkey by Thursday morning.
A reporter from the TV channel reported on the desperate fight against time: “The rescuers refuse to give up.” But the moments of joy about another rescue were becoming increasingly rare. There are no exact numbers of those rescued from Syria. (with KNA/AFP/dpa)
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