Bishop Bizzeti reported a general situation of “great despair” and great need, the faithful who remain in Antioch can be counted “on the fingers of two hands.” The Church in the West has the task of reminding governments and institutions of their duty to “safeguard” the presence of Christians. Ongoing Caritas interventions and long-term programs include schooling and psychological support.
Iskenderun () – The Christian community in the areas affected by the earthquake “is in great danger” due to a general situation of “enormous despair”: the faithful who remain in Antioch, the heart of the devastation, can be counted “with the fingers of both hands” and in addition to daily needs there is also the need to rebuild the social fabric “starting with housing, school and work” because “otherwise people will leave”. This is what he said to Monsignor Paolo Bizzeti, Vicar of Anatolia, a region that still bears the devastating wounds inflicted by the dramatic earthquake on February 6. From June 13 to 15, in Iskenderun, the vicariate organized a meeting to discuss the situation and outline the interventions and activities for the coming weeks, in a framework that continues to be of great need.
“Christians”, Archbishop Bizzeti said, “are no different from other minorities, they suffer from everyone’s problems: housing, work, school, day-to-day, daily life. Everything will take years to be solved. Even today it is difficult to say what it can be done from the outside to help, but the central point remains to keep attention high, to remember that the roots of Christianity are in these places. And the Churches of the West”, he added, “should sensitize and interest their governments, so that are taken seriously and help preserve the Christian presence in the Middle East. I’m talking about serious policies that should be on the agenda.”
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake on February 6 remains an open wound for Turkey, with a serious emergency situation still active in 11 major centers in the south and south-east of the country and across the border in northern Syria. . The death toll has exceeded 50,000 (in addition to the more than 8,000 reported by Damascus), but the figures are not final, considering that two more bodies have been discovered under the rubble during dismantling in recent days. of a building in Adıyaman. The buildings and houses collapsed or seriously damaged exceed 160,000, and the number of displaced after four months exceeds two million, in an emergency with no end in sight. Added to this are the disappeared, as the deputy of the Green Party and the Left Tülay Hatimoğulları pointed out in a parliamentary question, who asks for clarity on the number of disappeared.
In the first phase of the emergency, the Vicariate of Anatolia and Caritas Turkey were in charge of distributing water, food, blankets, clothing, medicines, detergents and cleaning material at the episcopal headquarters of Iskenderun, at home, in the streets and in the first camps. To this were added the school shops to guarantee a minimum of schooling and contribute to the development of children in a context of serious needs. In a second stage, the interventions of the Church referred to the supply of tents, equipment, camp kitchens, showers-bathrooms, containers and dining utensils, fans and refrigerators. In the first three months, almost 55,000 families received basic assistance, in addition to psychological help for young people and adults, support for education and medical care.
In the Hatay region, the most affected, “a large part of the population has moved to other cities and does not plan to return anytime soon,” said the vicar of Anatolia. “Many want to go back,” he continued, “but there are no reliable estimates on the deadlines.” In the Antioquia region it is not possible to rebuild, people are preparing to move away from the places where they lived for a long time. Others have stayed in the area and live in tent camps or settlements, and they need everything, starting with food and ventilation and refrigeration facilities, because with the arrival of heat, inside the tents, the climate it’s scorching. Then there is the problem of food storage, and it is on these tasks that Cáritas is currently concentrating its efforts “.
At a first estimate, around 20% of the original population is still in the most affected area, and the Church has been working in the last period to provide workers and artisans with equipment so they can start working again. And also cows, goats and sheep to the farmers, and what the women who used to weave at home need to supply products to companies in northern Turkey. “Tools and equipment to go back to work,” said Archbishop Bizzeti, “and in this perspective the contribution of microcredit is essential.”
Times “will inevitably be long,” he warned, because each step is under government control “and nothing can be done without permits” that are issued at the end of a complex – even more so in an emergency situation – bureaucratic process. Finally, children, young people and schools, which continue to be “one of the most affected categories” after the suffering and the months lost by the Covid-19 pandemic. “This generation”, Monsignor Bizzeti concluded, “is destined to live a very precarious school experience, to which are added the psychological traumas of the health emergency first and the earthquake later. In addition, time and resources are scarce even for Think about psychology, and it’s a constant fight for survival.”
TO SUPPORT THE INITIATIVES IN FAVOR OF THE EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS CARRIED OUT BY THE APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF ANATOLIA AND THE CUSTODY OF THE HOLY LAND, THE PIME FOUNDATION HAS OPENED A FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN. CLICK HERE TO LEARN AND CONTRIBUTE.
