It Could Happen Here - The Devastating Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

Episode Date: February 8, 2023

Shereen discusses the recent earthquakes that have devastated Turkey and Syria, the subsequent international response, and how sanctions have worsened Syria’s chance of recovery. The White Helmets:��https://www.whitehelmets.org/en/ The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) Foundationhttps://www.sams-usa.net/ Molham Teamhttps://molhamteam.com/en/campaigns/439 American Relief Fund https://arforganization.org/donations/  Doctors Without Bordershttps://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You should probably keep your lights on for Nocturnal Tales from the Shadowbride. Join me, Danny Trejo, and step into the flames of fright. An anthology podcast of modern-day horror stories inspired by the most terrifying legends and lore of Latin America. Listen to Nocturnal on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating.

I don't feel emotions correctly. I collect my roommate's toenails and fingernails. Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take phone calls from anonymous strangers

as a fake gecko therapist and try to learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's very interesting. Check it out for yourself by searching for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello and welcome to It Could Happen Here. This is Shereen, and today I will be talking to you about the series of devastating earthquakes that have happened in Turkey and Syria this week. I am recording this the afternoon of Tuesday, February 7th. I am giving you that disclaimer because the numbers keep changing as far as the casualties and the death toll goes. So if the numbers are different by the time this comes

out, which they probably will be, that is why. Unfortunately, that is the nature of disasters like this. So there's nothing much that we can do. But let's talk about the earthquakes themselves first. The initial earthquake was a magnitude of 7.8 and it happened in southeastern Turkey early on Monday morning, their local time, and it was followed by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake only nine hours later amidst several aftershocks. All aftershocks are individual earthquakes, but as long as they are not stronger than the original quake, they are considered aftershocks. quake, they are considered aftershocks. But the 7.5 magnitude tremor that happened after the 7.8 one, only 0.3 of a difference, it was an unusually strong aftershock according to seismologists. Aftershocks are typically about 1.2 magnitude units lower than the original earthquake. So if there was a magnitude 8 earthquake, the aftershock would be magnitude 7.

So this was all a very rare disastrous occurrence. The second earthquake was a shock notable all on its own, as well as in relation to the primary earthquake. As of Tuesday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey, at least 125 aftershocks measuring 4.0 or greater have occurred since the initial 7.81. The frequency and magnitude of the aftershocks are decreasing, as is expected as we get further out from the time of the original earthquake. However, 5.0 and 6.0 aftershocks are still possible, and they bring a risk of additional damage to structures that are compromised from the original earthquake. This brings a continued threat to rescue teams and survivors. The aftershocks stretch for more than 400 kilometers or about 250 miles along the fault zone that ruptured in southern Turkey. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea off the northern coast of Syria up to the province of Malatya.

The initial tremor was centered about 20 miles from a major city and provincial capital, Gaziantep, and seismologists said that this first earthquake was one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey's history. It was also the region's strongest earthquake in nearly a century. In 1939, an earthquake of this magnitude killed 30,000 people. Earthquakes of this magnitude are rare, with fewer than five occurring each year on average anywhere in the world. Seven earthquakes with magnitude 7.0 or greater have struck Turkey in the past 25 years, but the one that occurred on Monday is the most powerful. The effects were also felt in the neighboring countries of Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt,

to name a few, but there's a reason why earthquakes are so frequent in Turkey. Turkey sits on fault lines, and these earthquakes in the region have caused deadly landslides in the past. Turkey is situated on two massive tectonic plates, the Arabian and the Eurasian, and these meet underneath Turkey's southeastern provinces. Along this fault line, about 100 miles from one side or the other, the earth slipped. Seismologists refer to this event as a strike slip, where the plates are touching and all of a sudden they slide sideways. In a strike slip, the plates are moving horizontally rather than vertically.

This matters because the buildings don't want to go back and forth, and then the secondary waves begin to go back and forth as well. Because of the nature of this seismic event, the aftershocks could last for weeks and months. I have had to update the death toll many, many times in preparing this episode. I am probably going to have to update it many, many more times before this comes out. As of now, when I am recording this the evening of Tuesday, February 7th, the death toll is over 7,900 deaths in Turkey and Syria combined, and it's expected to rise significantly more in Syria as these days go by. The exact number that is being reported is 7,926 people. The Syrian Civil Defense, aka the White Helmets, said that the number of fatalities in rebel-held areas in northwest Syria rose to 1,220 and the number of injured people rose to 2,600. And these figures are expected to rise significantly due to the presence of

hundreds of families under the rubble. The White Helmets said, quote, Additionally, at least 812 deaths have been confirmed in government-controlled parts of Syria. In Turkey, at least 5,894 people are dead and 34,810 are injured. it will stop. Maybe a week from now, maybe a month. I don't know how many more people will be unaccounted for and not reported about, but this is what we have for now. You've probably seen pictures or videos of the devastation that is happening and all the destruction. There have been really disturbing images of the ground literally just opening up in two, There have been really disturbing images of the ground literally just opening up in two. And as if you can see the core of the earth.

And other videos show the collapsed buildings and the rubble that rescuers are trying to dig underneath to find survivors. This is one story out of many, but a newborn baby was reportedly rescued from the rubble in Syria, and there is a video of this. A baby girl was rescued from the rubble of her home. Her umbilical cord was still attached to her mother when she was found, and her mother is believed to have died after giving birth. One of the men that found her said, we heard a voice while we were digging. We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord intact, so we cut it and my cousin took her to the And again, this is one example And she's the sole survivor of her immediate family. They lived in a five-story apartment building that was leveled by the quake. And again, this is one example of the stories of thousands of people. And I think what's important to remember is that even after someone is rescued, they're not exactly home free. They can have many injuries or hypothermia because it's very cold over there right now.

And their recovery is going to be brutal. And I feel like that's a good thing to keep in mind when you hear the word rescue, because the trauma doesn't stop there. Almost 6,000 buildings have been destroyed by this earthquake, and this includes residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and the damage is even more severe in northwestern Syria because it had been in the process of attempting to reconstruct itself since the Syrian war started in 2011. Thankfully, members of the international community have stepped up to coordinate relief efforts to Turkey and Syria after the powerful earthquakes. However, sending aid to Syria is

going to be difficult because there is no central government to take care of the multi-sectorial response. The Turkish government said, quote, we do not know where the number of dead and injured can go. In Syria, rescue workers used headlamps and floodlights to work throughout the night. Many Syrian war refugees are also in the quake-stricken area of Turkey. Turkey has taken in 3.6 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country, and this is according to the UN Refugee Agency, which runs one of its largest operations in Gaziantep, where the first earthquake happened. And again, videos shared on social media from Turkey and across the border in Syria have showed destroyed buildings and rescue crews searching through piles of rubble for survivors.

Some people fled their homes in the rain and took shelter in their cars. And governments around the world quickly responded to Turkey's requests for international assistance, many of them deploying rescue teams and offers of aid, which I will get into in a bit. The World Health Organization warned that the number of casualties are likely to increase as much as eight times, as rescuers are finding more victims in the rubble. Rescuers have been combing through mountains of rubble in freezing and snowy conditions to find survivors, and these freezing conditions to find survivors and these freezing conditions will leave many people without shelter adding to the dangers it is freezing over

there and that obviously only makes things more difficult and more painful and more complicated and we always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows. The situation on the ground seems to be more disastrous in Syria, and this is according to the country director in Gaziantep for the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation. for the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation. He said, It's a disastrous situation in both Turkey and Syria, although Syria is more disastrous. Over a decade of conflict in northern Syria has fostered a poor economic situation, to say the least, making it very difficult to respond to the current crisis. In contrast, the situation in Turkey is coordinated through a very well-settled government. And northern Syria, unfortunately, has no government that gives a shit about it.

In northern Syria, most of the services and help are provided by NGOs. And this is due to a long-term lack of investments in early recovery and infrastructure. One of these groups, again, is the White Helmets. recovery and infrastructure. One of these groups, again, is the White Helmets. They were one of the main saviors or helpers ever since the Syrian civil war started in 2011. They have been on the ground helping and they are made up of Syrian volunteers. And I think that's important to keep in mind because many Syrians have relied on each other and each other alone because they didn't receive help in the past. And I'm going to get into later how much the country's civil war has made things exponentially worse. Several parts in northwestern

Syria, including the city of Idlib, are still controlled by anti-government rebels. This representative added that they evacuated two maternity hospitals because of the physical impact of the earthquake on the infrastructure. And so the question is, where are these people going to go? There's no shelter. It is freezing and there's not enough aid to go around. And I'm hoping the countries that I've said they will help are in the process of actually doing so. And I'm going to get into some of them in a moment because I'm grateful that there's help coming from somewhere. And amongst all this, there have been calls to ease the Syrian border restrictions and controls for countries to offer their aid. And again,

the rebel-held enclave in northwest Syria across the border from Turkey is among the areas that have been hit the worst by this disaster. International pledges, as I said, of emergency aid have poured in for Turkey and Syria, leading to calls for the international community to relax some of the political restrictions on aid entering northwest Syria. The Turkish president, Erdogan, who was facing an election in only a few months, said that offers of aid to Turkey had come from 45 countries ranging from Kuwait to Israel, Russia, and the UK. Syria said it had received offers of help from China, Russia, Lebanon, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates. Aid from around the world is thankfully heading toward Turkey and Syria, and some 70 countries

and 14 international organizations have offered their assistance. Here is a roundup of some of the latest pledges. There is a Hungarian rescue team of 50 people, including five military doctors and two search dogs. South Korea plans to offer humanitarian aid worth 5 million to Turkey and send about 110 disaster relief workers and military personnel to support its search and rescue work. You may notice that I'm only saying they're sending aid to Turkey in a couple of these and I will get into why in a little bit. But to continue, the Palestinian International Corporation Agency will deploy 70 experts to the quake later this week, sending two crews comprised of the Civil Defense, Ministry of Health, and the Palestinian Red Cross, as well as doctors and engineers.

There are also teams from the Palestinian Red Crescent, and they are carrying out earthquake rescue and relief operations in the Palestinian refugee camps in the surrounding areas in Syria. At least three Palestinian refugee camps in Syria were struck by the earthquake. Pakistan deployed two contingents of emergency services to Turkey. China said it will send about $5.9 million worth of aid to Turkey while also coordinating with Syria for emergency supplies and accelerating ongoing food aid projects. Two Israeli aid groups chartered a special flight to Gaziantep on Tuesday to bring personnel and equipment to victims. Germany's Federal Agency for Technical Relief is sending a team of 50 recovery experts to Turkey. The Dalai Lama committed to sending rescue and relief efforts early today.

And Taiwan increased its donation to Turkey from $200,000 to $2 million, and it dispatched about 130 rescue teams. Indonesia also supplied aid for Turkey. The vice president of Indonesia highlighted the urgency of dispatching humanitarian aid to Turkey to return the support granted by the country to Indonesia during their times of need over natural disasters in the past. Canada also pledged $7.5 million to earthquake relief. Egypt offered relief assistance to Syria in the wake of this earthquake. Ukraine will send 87 emergency staff workers to Turkey to assist with the relief efforts. And not just countries, but also companies and non-profits have offered their help this week.

For example, Amazon announced that it will help the victims of the Turkey earthquake by donating food, medicine, and equipment from its Istanbul warehouse. Amazon has about 2,000 employees in Turkey, and in a statement on Monday, it said that it activated its, quote, disaster relief capabilities and was preparing to donate relief items, including blankets, tents, food, baby food, and medicines. Even here in the U.S., the Virginia Task Force One is sending a crew of 79 members and six dogs to Turkey, and there are 78 members of the LA County Fire Department who left Monday evening to Turkey. And then there's Greece, who set aside tensions with Turkey to send aid, but helping Syria, they said, is more complicated. Despite its tensions with Turkey, Greece was among the countries that have dispatched help to the country, Greece was among the countries that have dispatched help to the country, but conflict-torn northwest Syria makes the same efforts more complicated, the prime minister said. Grace and Turkey, he said, are, quote, neighbors who need to help each other through difficult times. This is not the first

time earthquakes have struck our countries. This is a time to temporarily set aside our differences and try to address what is a very, very urgent situation. He continued to explain that in Syria, however, there is no official person or official from the government to have a dialogue with, and no assurance that aid will make it to the impacted area and people, and that makes relief efforts hard to pull off. No country on its own has the ability to actually make these sort of arrangements. That's why I think it is important that these negotiations could take place either through the UN or through the European Union by pulling resources. I would not feel confident having these sort of discussions at a bilateral level. He also added that he has not directly communicated with Damascus. He went on to say that, quote, I want to stress this. This is not about geopolitics. This is not about recognizing any sort of regime. This is about saving people in horrible conditions who desperately need our assistance.

So the scale of aid being offered is going to require a large coordination effort, as well as delicate diplomatic maneuvers to supply aid to Syria where the leadership of Bashar al-Assad is not recognized in the West. It's not recognized for me either, and many Syrians feel the same way. But that is the monster that we are currently dealing with, and there's not much we can do about that at this certain point in time. And so, as I mentioned, the Syrian side of the border is going to be a challenge since the worst affected areas contain hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees that are locked in a war zone and still facing attacks from Syrian government forces. Aid agencies reported that some of the roads from Turkey into Syria were blocked,

including the main cross-border crossing used by international aid agencies. The White Helmets said hundreds of families were still trapped in the aftermath of the earthquake. They also added that terrible weather conditions, including freezing temperatures, had compounded the crisis. And they're continuing rescue operations in Syria, despite great difficulties and aftershocks, they said. The White Helmets also urged the Assad regime and Russia to refrain from military activity in the affected areas in order to allow international groups to unify and help the people affected. A spokesperson from the White Helmets said, Our teams responded and until now many families are under the rubble.

Our teams are trying hard to find all the casualties. Northwest Syria is now a disaster area. We need help from everyone to save our people. I think this would be a moment to take a little break. I don't have the capacity or emotional bandwidth to think of a clever segue, so here are some ads. Welcome, I'm Danny Thrill. Won't you join me at the fire and dare enter? Nocturnum, Tales from the Shadows, presented by iHeart and Sonora, an anthology of modern-day horror stories

inspired by the legends of Latin America. From ghastly encounters with shapeshifters to bone-chilling brushes with supernatural creatures. I know you. Take a trip and experience the horrors that have haunted Latin America since the beginning of time. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows

as part of my Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season digging into how tech's elite has turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, better offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech from an industry veteran with nothing to lose. This season, I'm going to be joined by everyone from Nobel-winning economists to leading journalists in the field, and I'll be digging into why the products you love keep getting worse

and naming and shaming those responsible. Don't get me wrong, though. I love technology. I just hate the people in charge and want them to get back to building things that actually do things to help real people. I swear to God things can change if we're loud enough. So join me every week to understand what's happening in the tech industry and what could be done to make things better. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcasts. Check out betteroffline.com.

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now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday. And we are back. We're talking about the difficulty sending aid to syria along the turkey syrian border last month actually the un security council agreed to allow aid into northwest syria from turkey across one border crossing bab al-hawa surprising no one the the Syrian regime has been resistant to allowing aid into a region serving more than 4 million of its people because it regards the aid as undermining Syrian sovereignty and reducing its chances of winning back control of the region. Yes, that is correct. The Syrian government doesn't want to help more than 4 million of its own people because one day it wants to control them again. Are you fucking kidding me? I don't understand that malignant desire to rule over a land that you have destroyed

and a people that you have murdered. I don't get the fucking point, but regardless, that is one of the many reasons why getting aid into Syria is going to be much more complicated than getting aid into Turkey. Additionally, Mark Lowcock, the former head of UN humanitarian affairs, said the areas worst affected by the earthquake inside Syria look to be run by the Turkish-controlled opposition and not by the Syrian government. It is going to require Turkish acquiescence to aid in these areas. It is unlikely the Syrian government will do much to help. Yes, Mark, I think you're right. The Syrian government isn't going to do shit. If anything,

Bashar al-Assad is probably happy seeing all these people die because that's his whole MO, just to kill the Syrian people. Anyway, a video from a hospital posted by the Syrian American Medical Society showed that it was immensely crowded. They said, Our hospitals are overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways. There is an immediate need for trauma supplies and a comprehensive emergency response to save lives and treat the injured. A UNICEF representative in Aleppo said that the hospitals in Syria are absolutely overloaded. Hospitals are full of patients with trauma, broken bones and lacerations,

and some people are going to the hospital to seek help for the mental trauma they endured after the earthquake struck. The UNICEF representative Angela Kearney said while hospitals are functioning, the task has been overwhelming. Describing the scene in Aleppo when the earthquake struck on Monday, Kearney said children who have already been traumatized by war were bewildered. They didn't know what was happening. Kearney said that on Monday morning when UNICEF began its work in the area, there were seven schools in Aleppo that were being used as shelters. By Tuesday morning, that number grew to 67, and currently it is nearly 200. In all of those schools that are partially damaged, there are families there who left

their apartments, left their houses with just their pajamas, she said. She also added that while aid is starting to go into the affected areas, there is still a desperate need for blankets, food, clean water, medical care, and nutritional care. She said that water, sanitation, and nutrition needs are the most urgent. The aid is starting to go in, but it is overwhelming. The needs are very great. There are discussions underway to open aid corridors from the government-controlled parts of Syria to the rebel-held areas. Mohamed Hamoud, Syria country manager at the Norwegian Red Cross, said that he hopes with the help and efforts from humanitarian communities, this would happen in the coming days. And he said, currently, nothing has moved there.

But there are discussions about moving aid and access to these areas. He continued to say, after being asked if the Syrian government in Damascus has been helpful to these areas, he said, they have stated that they are open to cross-line intervention, meaning from government-held areas to these non-government-held areas. They are open to it. They're not doing shit, though, obviously. Earlier today, the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which described itself as an independent and volunteer-based humanitarian organization, said that the organization is

ready to immediately send aid convoys to rebel-held areas, including Idlib, through the UN. aid convoys to rebel-held areas, including Idlib, through the UN. Hamoud added that the humanitarian situation is worsening. He said, We are in a race against time. In describing the rescue and search operations, Hamoud said that due to the lack of machinery, most of the work on clearing the rubble is done by hand, and the cold weather conditions are not helping. He also added that the buildings are already weakened because of 11 years of war.

In addition to the thousands of people that have been lost to this tragedy, there are also some cultural sites that have been permanently damaged in both Turkey and Syria. UNESCO, the United Nations Cultural Organization, said it's going to provide assistance following the cultural site damage. UNESCO said that it is particularly concerned about the situation in the ancient city of Aleppo, which is on the list of world heritage in danger. It added that the citadel had significant damage. The old city wall has collapsed and several buildings and the souks have been weakened. In the Turkish city of Diyarbakır, UNESCO lamented the collapse of several buildings and the souks have been weakened. In the Turkish city of Diyarbakir,

UNESCO lamented the collapse of several buildings. The city is home to the World Heritage Site, the Diyarbakir Fortress, and the Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape, which is an important center of the Roman, Senescent, Byzantine, Islamic, and Ottoman periods. The organization says it is mobilizing experts to establish a precise inventory of the damage with the aim of rapidly securing and stabilizing these sites. Aleppo was also one of the city's worst damaged by the Syrian regime. It is a beautiful, beautiful place. Everything that the regime has destroyed was a beautiful, beautiful place. Aleppo had a lot of history though, and that region is just home to so much history, and it's just really heartbreaking to know the extent of the loss that doesn't just include lives.

In talking to my mom and my family about this, the sentiment seems like it's the same that it's been for the past decade essentially syrians don't have a government there is no government assad and his regime doesn't care about the syrian people my mom literally, we have no one. We've known this for years. No one helped us. Syrians are the ones supporting each other. The White Helmets is a great example of this. One of our family's friends on the ground in the city of Hama, which is where my mom is from, was saying that it was absolute chaos. Everyone is in the streets and no one is daring to go back inside their homes. Another person was telling us about his experience and he said, I was asleep and felt the earthquake start in my bed. My son was terrified and I went to hug my son. I kept telling him it'll be over

soon. It'll be over soon. And then the roof started crumbling on top of us. So then he ran outside and he saw many people doing the same, just running outside their homes if they were able to make it out and watching their homes just crumble in front of them. Let's take a break and when we come back I want to set the scene of what Syrians have been going through even before this earthquake even happened, and how sanctions in particular have made the impact of this disaster exponentially worse. Welcome, I'm Danny Threl. Won't you join me as the fire and dare enter? Nocturnal, Tales from the Shadows, presented by iHeart and Sonorum. An anthology of modern day horror stories inspired by the legends of Latin America. From ghastly encounters with shapeshifters,

to bone-chilling brushes with supernatural creatures. I know it. Take a trip and experience the horrors that have haunted Latin America since the beginning of time. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows as part of my Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season digging into how Tex Elite has turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, better offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech from an industry veteran with nothing to lose. This season I'm going to be joined by everyone from Nobel winning economists to leading journalists in the field and I'll be digging into why the products you love

keep getting worse and naming and shaming those responsible. Don't get me wrong, though. I love technology. I just hate the people in charge and want them to get back to building things that actually do things to help real people. I swear to God things can change if we're loud enough, so join me every week to understand what's happening in the tech industry

and what could be done to make things better. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcasts. Check out betteroffline.com. Curious about queer sexuality, cruising, and expanding your horizons? Hit play on the sex-positive and deeply entertaining podcast, Sniffy's Cruising Confessions. Join hosts Gabe Gonzalez and Chris Patterson Rosso as they explore queer sex, cruising, relationships, and culture in the new iHeart podcast, Sniffy's Cruising Confessions. Sniffy's Cruising Confessions will broaden minds and help you pursue your true goals. You can listen to Sniffy's Cruising Confessions, sponsored by Gilead,

now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday. So we're back, and we're going to talk about how sanctions have only aided in the suffering of the Syrian people. Twelve years after the eruption of the Syrian uprising and the 2011 subsequent conflict, the U.S.'s Syria policy has constrained political pressure on the Assad regime to broad economic sanctions. But, despite an expansive approach that targets entire economic sectors, these sanctions have had little to no effect in pushing the regime to offer political concessions, engage meaningfully in a peaceful settlement of the conflict, or improve its human rights record. All the while, conditions in Syria have steadily worsened as sanctions, along with the destructive effects of 12 years of conflict, the economic crisis in neighboring Lebanon, and the COVID-19 pandemic, all of this has fueled an economic collapse that has left more than 90% of the population in Syria living in poverty. In 1979, the United States

listed Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, and since then it has pursued sanctions as a primary tool in its policy toward Syria. The George W. Bush administration issued a series of sanctions under executive orders aiming to limit Syria's destabilizing influence in Iraq. However, after the 2011 uprising, the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations sanctioned the Assad regime on an unprecedented scale for its gross human rights violations against its people. These sanctions ultimately accumulated in the passing of the Caesar Act in 2019, and this allows primary and secondary sanctions targeting both those who commit the sanctionable offenses and those who enable

them. Just three months ago, in November of 2022, a UN-appointed independent human rights expert urged the United States to lift the unilateral sanctions against Syria, warning that they are perpetrating and exacerbating the destruction and trauma suffered by ordinary citizens since the brutal war began in 2011. This expert's name is Alana Dohan, and she said, I am struck by the pervasiveness of the human rights and humanitarian impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria and the total economic and financial isolation of a country whose people are struggling to rebuild a life with dignity. In a statement that followed her 12-day visit to Syria, Dohan presented detailed

information on the catastrophic effects that sanctions have had on all aspects of Syrian life. catastrophic effects that sanctions have had on all aspects of Syrian life. Currently, 90% of Syria's population is living below the poverty line, she said, pointing to their limited access to food, water, electricity, shelter, cooking and heating fuel, transportation, and healthcare. Moreover, growing economic hardship threatens to trigger a massive brain drain in the country. economic hardship threatens to trigger a massive brain drain in the country. She said, With more than half of the vital infrastructure either completely destroyed or severely damaged, the imposition of unilateral sanctions on key economic sectors, including oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction, and engineering, have quashed national income, and they undermine efforts toward economic recovery and reconstruction. These sanctions have committed various human rights violations in their existence,

including the serious shortages in medicines and specialized medical equipment. My family and I have direct experience with these repercussions of the lack of medicines and medical equipment. My cousin, a child, had brain cancer. And it got worse and worse. And the city they were in did not offer the treatment necessary or even chemo to help his condition. So his mother would drive to Damascus, where at least some of the treatment options were available. But the road to Damascus, even though it shouldn't take more than a few hours, can sometimes take all day because there are so many checkpoints and road

closures and just the regime making it so difficult to do anything. Ultimately, my cousin was suffering for the remainder of his very young life, and he didn't get the treatment that he needed. And I really think these sanctions have a lot to do with the lack of access that my family and many families have in Syria. And that experience that my family went through is one of many that many Syrian families have endured because of these sanctions. So I want you guys to keep that in mind that numbers also contain individual lives. And each one is devastating all on its own. And I know I say that often, but I think it bears repeating every time. I don't want us to be numb to statistics and numbers when it comes to casualties and suffering and loss.

numbers when it comes to casualties and suffering and loss. And maybe it sounds obvious, but I just think we need to remember the value of human life and what it means to take it away. So that's what I'm going to say about that for now. Let's get back to the reports that Ms. Dohan was showing the U.S. back in November of 2022 about the effect of the sanctions. So including the impact that sanctions have had on the serious shortages in medicines and specialized medical equipment due to the unavailability of equipment and spare parts, she warned that the rehabilitation and development of water distribution networks for drinking and irrigation has stalled, with serious implications for public health and food security. 12 million Syrians are experiencing

food insecurity. This is pre-earthquake. The number is probably much higher now. Dohan urged for the immediate lifting of all unilateral sanctions that severely harm human rights and prevent any efforts for early recovery, rebuilding, and reconstruction. She said, no reference to good objectives of unilateral sanctions justifies the violation of fundamental human rights. The international community has an obligation of solidarity and assistance to the Syrian people. I want to add something that UNICEF said about the children in Syria. Children in Syria continue to face one of the most complex humanitarian situations in the world. A worsening economic crisis continued localized hostilities after more than a decade of grinding conflict. Mass displacement and devastated public infrastructure have left two

thirds of the population in need of assistance. Waterborne diseases pose another deadly threat to children and families affected. And all of this is again pre-earthquake. This is the life that Syrians have known for years now without any assistance. Sanctions have done nothing but contribute to the increase in the suffering of the Syrian people and now countries and organizations might have a hard time providing aid because of these sanctions. Sanctions have done nothing but contribute to the suffering and pain of the Syrian people. They didn't do anything they were supposedly meant to do. The Assad regime isn't going to change anything. It hasn't changed anything. It's still killing its people. I also want to mention that last year, on May 31st, 2022, the EU extended its sanctions against

the Syrian government for another year. Who knows if this will change, but for now, that's the reality. So I'm really hoping these sanctions get eventually lifted, or else helping the Syrian people is going to be extremely difficult. And right now, rescuers are still digging through thousands and thousands of flattened buildings in near-freezing temperatures. thousands of flattened buildings in near freezing temperatures. The death toll is only going to continue to rise and everyone there needs all the help they can get. And I know, at least for me, it feels really helpless. I've felt pretty helpless for a long time when it comes to Syria, but if you're able to donate any money at all, I would really urge you to donate to a charity that you trust. I really like the White Helmets because they're just on

the ground and they've been doing the work for years. So if you're able to, I think help can go a long way. I want to end with something that Elena Dohan, the UN-appointed independent human rights expert that gave the U.S. this report about the sanctions in November of 2022, she quoted one view that she heard expressed many times. She said, I saw much suffering, but now I see the hope die. So that's where the Syrian people started. That's where they've been. Nearly 70% of the Syrian population was already in need of humanitarian aid before the earthquake even happened. And it's an issue that's only been compounded by the tragedy. This tragedy will have a devastating impact on many vulnerable families who struggle to provide for their loved ones on a daily basis. The statement outlined the impact of Syria's 12-year war, describing a country as grappling with economic collapse, severe water, electricity, and fuel shortages. They issued an appeal to all donor partners to provide assistance necessary to alleviate suffering. The UN and humanitarian partners say they are currently focusing on immediate needs,

including food, shelter, and non-food items and medicine. And the devastation of this earthquake because of this is truly devastating. I cannot emphasize that enough. So again, if you're able to donate, I really urge you to. And if you can't, just keep raising awareness because someone else might be able to donate. And that's all we really have for now. So that's the episode. I hope it was informative or eye-opening in any way. Thank you for listening. I will talk to you later. eye-opening in any way. Thank you for listening. You should probably keep your lights on for Nocturnal Tales from the Shadow Broth. Join me, Danny Trails, and step into the flames of riot. An anthology podcast of modern day horror stories inspired by the most terrifying legends and lore of Latin America.

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