Syrian Refugee Crisis: CARE at the front lines

CARE reaches nearly 232,800 people in first month following deadly earthquakes

Background

Before dawn on February 6, southern Türkiye (Turkey) and northern Syria were struck by a series of devastating earthquakes, including a 7.8-magnitude earthquake and more than 2,100 strong aftershocks. The earthquakes directly impacted 9.1 million people across both countries, with the death toll surpassing 50,000 over the past month. Heroic search and rescue missions uncovered thousands from the rubble, including approximately 116,700 people who have been injured by the shocks. The earthquakes have severely damaged or destroyed 164,321 buildings in Türkiye, leaving approximately 1.9 million people homeless. In northern Syria, where the people and the landscape are both scarred by a 12-year civil war, the earthquakes have displaced tens of thousands for the second time.

An estimated 460,000 people are crowded into temporary shelters in Türkiye, including a growing number of unaccompanied children. Many families have been separated in the confusion following the earthquakes, and thousands of children have lost their parents or guardians.

Much of the damage is concentrated in areas that were already responding to humanitarian crises. In Türkiye, the most earthquake-affected provinces are also the same provinces that had been hosting the majority of Syrian refugees, and in Northwest Syria, 2.8 million people were already displaced inside the country prior to the earthquake. Other pre-earthquake challenges, like rampant inflation and a global disruption of essential food supply chains, have also equally impacted communities on both sides of the border. Without urgent action, vulnerable families risk falling into a vicious cycle of poverty and despair.

CARE’s Response

In the past few weeks, access to earthquake-affected areas has improved. The roads connecting Adana, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman and Malatya are now mostly cleared, enabling more humanitarian convoys to bring supplies to affected families. The airports in Hatay and Gaziantep have also reopened, which has been critical for the importation of humanitarian supplies from international actors. CARE’s team, in partnership with government and non-governmental partners, are actively delivering essential supplies in both Türkiye and Syria, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) materials; tents; blankets; food; multi-purpose cash assistance; and other emergency items. 

CARE has lauched several assessments of the damage and impacts of the earthquakes, including rapid gender analyses. CARE’s first policy brief on the gender-specific impacts of the earthquakes is available online here. Emergencies always exacerbate inequalities, putting vulnerable groups – particularly women and girls – at even greater risk. For example, there are an estimated 148,000 pregnant women in the earthquake-affected areas in Northwest Syria alone, of whom, 37,000 are expected to deliver in the next three months and more than 5,000 will likely require emergency obstetric care at a time when medical facilities and supplies are severely limited.

Türkiye

In Türkiye, CARE is working closely with the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) to deliver supplies to vulnerable people in earthquake areas. Our response targets both communities that were directly impacted by the earthquakes and neighboring districts that are now playing host to a large influx of displaced people – many of whom do not have homes to return to. Each district has unique needs, and CARE is careful to adapt our strategy to each context. For example, in Hatay’s capital city, Antakya, there are currently no operational markets, so instead of a cash and voucher approach, CARE is procuring and distributing much-needed items.

To date, CARE has reached 26,767 people in Türkiye with essential supplies. Our deliveries over the past few weeks have provided 1,031 people with flour to make bread and 3,600 people with food packages that can feed a family for one month. In order to stave off the harsh winter cold, CARE has also provided blankets to 3,500 people, electric heaters to 1,440 families and warm winter clothes to 675 people. Finally, to ensure the health and dignity of affected families, CARE has provided hygiene kits to 8,100 people, bottled water to 11,138 people and access to portable toilets to more than 6,000 people. 

CARE has also resumed our “helpline,” which provides important information about municipal services and shelters, food distribution locations, evacuation points and other time-sensitive announcements. We are also in the process of establishing a new office in Hatay to bring our teams closer to the communities we serve.

Syria

CARE’s teams are well positioned to take on a leadership role in the international humanitarian response in Syria, due to our history of working in the region and existing partnerships with local entities. As co-lead of the Shelter and Non-Food Item Cluster convened by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and a participant in several other clusters and working groups, CARE is a trusted partner for local and international organizations alike. 

Overall, CARE has reached 206,032 people so far with our response in Northwest Syria. Our cross-border operations in northwest Syriarecommenced on February 9, with a convoy of six trucks crossing at the U.N.- sanctioned Bab Al-Hawa border crossing. Since then, CARE reached 8,628 people with food security and livelihoods assistance, including multipurpose cash assistance that empowers families to make their own decisions on what to buy and when. In addition, CARE has reached 1,736 people with health interventions and 148,759 people with shelter assistance during these harsh winter months. CARE and our partners have also provided access to essential water, sanitation and hygiene services to 166,049 people to reduce the spread of waterborne diseases, like cholera.

CARE always puts women and girls at the center – including in the design and implementation of our humanitarian responses. To ensure the safety and dignity of women and girls following the catastrophic earthquakes, CARE has established new safe spaces in Idleb and Aleppo. To date, we have reached 2,489 people with protection assistance.

Human Interest Story

Ayham Taha, 33, is CARE’s technical advisor for humanitarian food security and livelihoods in Türkiye, and works on several projects in Türkiye and Northern Syria. He and his wife are Syrian and have been working in humanitarian aid since the conflict in Syria started. This is how Ayham recounts his and his family’s experience since the earthquakes on February 6, 2023.  

The earthquake hit us at 4:17 in the morning. I immediately took my wife’s hand, picked up my 5-year-old son in my arms and ran out of the house as quickly as possible. Everything was shaking and people were screaming. Outside, it was cold and dark. 

We could not go back into our house, because the building could collapse at any time. Through friends, we heard that a collective center was open in my son’s school, but with all of the aftershocks I was not sure if the school was stable enough. Nearly every hour, there was a new aftershock. There was a lot of panic. My wife and I tried to calm our son down and tell him everything is going to be ok. We discussed the safest options, and finally decided to stay in our car – like so many others. It was freezing cold, so we kept our engine running the whole time, to have at least some warmth. I could hardly sleep, keeping an eye on the gasoline indicator, which was slowly but surely getting lower and lower. 

The mood in Gaziantep is a mixture of sadness and desperation, but also of immense human warmth and solidarity. Many people had to leave their wallets inside the buildings that collapsed after being evacuated. Still, local restaurants help by giving out soup and fruits. People are helping each other survive. I see shopkeepers offering children more food and some chocolate, knowing this might comfort them. It is amazing to see how people come together to help each other in this way.  

Still, the situation remains very difficult. I feel exhausted and stressed. I even started smoking – I have never smoked before in my life! But I consider myself really lucky: I have not lost anyone close to me.  

I knew that my family could not stay in Gaziantep, so on Thursday [February 9], after sleeping in our car for three nights, we left for Mardin – a city about 200 kilometers east of Gaziantep. I drove slowly, as the roads were severely damaged. We were really scared. There was a lot of traffic, as many people were trying to evacuate the city. Once we reached Mardin, I found a couple of hotels that were fit for accommodation. I immediately called my manager at CARE and we decided that we would move the rest of the CARE staff here. We set up a makeshift office in the hotel lobby. People were sitting around with their laptops, eager to organize how we can get much-needed support to the people who need it the most, prioritizing the delivery of equipment to emergency shelters like tents, mattresses, and blankets, as well as hygiene and dignity kits to women and girls who are especially affected by this crisis. 

We as CARE cannot prevent disasters like this, but we can improve the conditions for the people affected!  

Funding Target

CARE seeks to raise $80 million over the course of three years – including $65 million in the first year – to provide lifesaving assistance to 363,000 people affected by the earthquakes, and to support the medium and long-term recovery of the region. Some examples of how your gift could help families affected by the earthquakes include:

• $35 can provide a family with a set of five blankets;
• $37 can provide a family with a kit of essential hygiene supplies;
• $40 can provide a family with a basic kitchen set so they can continue to prepare their own food;
• $69 can provide a family with an electric heater; and
• $173 can provide a family with warm clothes to survive the winter.

Conclusion

More than 23 million people have been affected by the earthquakes, including CARE staff. The full extent of the damage caused remains to be seen, but CARE is prepared to deliver critical aid and support families as they are forced to rebuild their lives from the ground up. On behalf of the people and communities impacted by CARE’s response, we thank you for your generous contribution to the Türkiye and Syria Earthquake Response fund.[1]

[1] In order to effectively manage the current emergency response and continue to be able to deploy resources for other emergencies, CARE will reserve 20% of donations to the earthquake response to cover technical support, administration and emergency preparedness expenses, including the rapid deployment of staff to emergencies such as this one.

Links:

• Syria: The things they went back for