TURKEY Cardinal Zenari: the tragedy of the earthquake as “proof of humanity” to overcome the Syrian conflict

The United States announced the partial freezing of some sanctions. The Turkish PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire to assist relief efforts. Nuncio in Damascus: the effort of “everyone” is needed, starting with the international community, which must “overcome ideological conflicts”. In Aleppo there is a general feeling of “precariousness”. Open Hospitals “extend care to all, without distinction.”

Milan () – The response to the “tragedy” of the earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria will be a “proof of humanity” for all, so that they can finally “silence the guns” and “overcome the divisions”, said the apostolic nuncio in Damascus, card. Mario Zenari. Between February 7 and 9, the cardinal visited the city of Aleppo, the second largest in the country and one of the most affected by the earthquake. Contacted by telephone by , he explained that he will travel in the next few hours to Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast, another area suffering the consequences of the earthquake along with the northwestern province of Idlib, controlled by rebel and jihadist groups. “The international community -he pointed out forcefully- must also overcome ideological conflicts” and collaborate so that “sanctions, particularly on gas and oil” that are still “under embargo” are put aside.

The divisions of the past are many and the wounds are still open, beginning with the confrontation of the last decade between Syria and Turkey, precisely the two countries most affected by the earthquake on February 6, which has so far caused more than 21,000 deaths. A provisional balance, destined to continue increasing, which has already exceeded the first -dramatic- estimates of the experts of the United Nations and the World Health Organization. In the tragedy, however, some stories emerge that feed hope. This morning, 102 hours after the first tremor, six people were pulled alive from a collapsed building in Antioquia, and yesterday a woman was rescued in Gaziantep after spending 83 hours under the rubble.

Meanwhile, the first optimistic signs can be seen in a region marked by wars and divisions. To favor the sending and distribution of aid, the United States announced the freezing of some sanctions against Damascus. On the other side of the border, on the Turkish side, the PKK (Kurdish Workers’ Party, which has spent years in an armed struggle against Ankara and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan) announced a unilateral ceasefire.

“Both countries have a long history of divisions that must be overcome,” underlines the papal nuncio, who sponsors “a humanitarian effort by all” in both Syria and Turkey. “This is a test bed – he warns – for something to change” and to really put an end “to 12 years of war, starting the reconstruction work over again. In addition to the earthquake, we hope to also see the other side of the coin and the availability, the goodwill”. “At first – he continues – in the face of such a tragedy one is left without hope”, but now the time has come to “roll up our sleeves, both at the level of people and institutions. I repeat, this calamity is a test of humanity”, beginning with a Syria that continues to be divided and in which it is essential to reach “a national ceasefire that allows the free circulation of humanitarian aid”.

In recent days, Cardinal Zenari visited Aleppo and, more than the “devastations and landslides” already common in 12 years of war, and the neighborhoods razed to the ground, what is most impressive is a general atmosphere of “precariousness.” “Of course – he says – there are collapsed buildings, fallen minarets, damaged churches, but what is not in sight is even more serious. One in three buildings is not safe, people cannot return, they prefer to stay out in the open” despite the cold. They seek refuge in the parish or in any other Church institution, “even in very precarious conditions, so as not to return to their homes”. “Families with the elderly and children – he continues – without mattresses, forced to sleep in chairs to feel more secure. The real emergency is how to give these people a roof over their heads. Help from the international community will be needed”, in a perspective that goes “beyond the immediate emergency”.

War, Covid, sanctions, the poverty bomb, cholera and now the earthquake have brought Aleppo to its knees, a metropolis that was once the economic and commercial capital, increasingly wounded. “When the great battle took place – he recalls – we saw more than 200,000 people in the streets, a huge exodus, and now it’s the same. It must be taken into account that Syria continues to be the country with the most displaced people in the world, almost 13 million between internal and external refugees, to which the victims of the earthquake will now be added”.

With regard to aid, the cardinal underlines that “operating today in Syria is much more complicated than in any European country affected by an earthquake. In addition to the destroyed structures, there is a lack of gasoline, electricity, diesel… I myself had to travel from Damascus to Aleppo with a supply of fuel that was impossible to find. We are grateful to the government deposits that supply our facilities, because it would be unimaginable to house more than 1,000 people without electricity. Food is needed, gas for cooking; the weight of the war is enormous”. In an ocean of needs, the Church, in addition to welcoming the displaced, has decided to extend to all those in need the medical attention offered by one of the three Open Hospitals (two in the capital, one in Aleppo) that have been working for years in the country. “It was agreed with AVSI that everyone will be treated free of charge – he concludes – surpassing the previous criterion of helping only the poor for whom we pay for treatment. Now we are all united in the tragedy and care must be offered to everyone, without distinction”.