SHARING GRIEF

A major earthquake hit the southern Türkiye and northern Syria more than a week ago. Rescuers are still recovering bodies from under the rubble. Death toll from the disaster in both countries exceeds 35,000, with the UN warning that the final number can double. 80,278 people were affected and 6,444 buildings destroyed. A total of 11,302 reports of destruction have been received.

Currently, the death toll in Türkiye is 31,643, according to the latest data from the Turkish rescue organisation AFAD. Nearly 3,600 people died in Syria, where the disaster hit the northwest rebellious territories the hardest, leaving many people who have already lost their homes in the decade-long civil war.

The quake with a magnitude of 7.7 struck Türkiye on February 6. Its epicentre was 7-km deep in the Pazarcik area of the Kahramanmarash Province. The accident caused serious damages in the provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adiyaman, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbekir, Adana and Kahramanmarash.

It is estimated to be the most devastating for the country since the 1999 Marmara Sea disaster that killed more than 17,217 people. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of nationwide mourning for the victims of the disaster. According to the Confederation of Entrepreneurs and Businesses of Türkiye, the damage from the earthquake could exceed $84b, or about 10% of GDP, with about $70.8b of losses caused by residential buildings, $10.4b attributed to the national income and $2.9b to the workforce. These calculations were based on data from the 1999 earthquake.

"One nation, two states"

Once uttered by the national leader Heydar Aliyev to symbolise the fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Türkiye, the essence of these words was confirmed this time too. Azerbaijan was the first country to provide immediate assistance to Türkiye.

Türkiye stood with Azerbaijan in the Garabagh war. Now Azerbaijan stands with Türkiye.

On the day of the disaster, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev called his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tell him that Azerbaijan and Türkiye have always been close to each other. Azerbaijan was deeply shocked to hear the news of the earthquake, which caused major human casualties and devastation. President Aliyev expressed condolences personally and on behalf of the Azerbaijani people to President Erdogan, the families of victims and brotherly Turkish people, and wished speedy recovery to the victims. President Aliyev said this was a major disaster and Azerbaijan shared all the burdens and tears of Türkiye. He then ordered to send rescue troops of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to Türkiye, visited the Turkish Embassy in Baku and left a note in the book of condolences.

Upon instructions from the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva, regular deliveries of humanitarian aid by air has been organised. This includes tents, bed clothes, medicines and other necessary tools and equipment for first aid. A team of doctors and nurses of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence left for Türkiye after the earthquake. Azerbaijan has deployed two field hospitals to the earthquake zone to provide medical services.

Azerbaijani Minister for Health Teymur Musayev instructed to allocate 2,000 beds in local hospitals for the victims of the disaster. Turkish citizens evacuated to our country—6 families with 10 children and 12 adults—were placed in the K. Farajov Pediatrics Research Institute.

"We always feel the support of Azerbaijanis"

Turkish television channel HaberGlobal ran a story Azerbaijan extends helping hand to Türkiye about the humanitarian aid deliveries to the earthquake zone by the order of President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva. The story mentioned that brotherly Azerbaijan, both its government and people, were the first to help Türkiye and showed how the volunteers of Public Association Regional Development of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation collected necessary things from the citizens of Baku to the victims of the tragedy. This aid is delivered to the zone of the incident by air. Azerbaijani citizens suffered deep pain in response to the tragedy in Türkiye. They continue to bring essential supplies, baby food, food, including canned food, as well as blankets, warm clothes, winter clothes and so on to the collection sites. There are so many donations that officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs can hardly control the process.

Various state organisations, companies, the banking and private sectors of Azerbaijan are providing significant material assistance to Türkiye. 100 young volunteers from Azerbaijan, who left for Türkiye last week, immediately began providing assistance to the victims of the disaster. Rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan (900 people) have so far saved 51 people, including 17 children, and pulled 618 dead bodies from the rubble. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) provides the emergency vehicles, fire crews and other special vehicles in Hatay, Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Kahramanmarash and Shanliurfa with free fuel. In addition, SOCAR provided support for the evacuation of Azerbaijani citizens from the disaster zone. 25 employees of the company, including three doctors, are directly involved in the search and rescue works.

Turkish officials and the people of Türkiye appreciate what Azerbaijan continues to do in the these difficult days. Locals do not hide their emotions and greet our volunteers with tears of joy.

President Erdogan thanked his Azerbaijani counterpart. "Just as we were by our brothers' side in the Garabagh war, so my brother Ilham and his entire team stand with us in this disaster. I personally thank the entire team led by Ilham Aliyev. I am very grateful to my Azerbaijani brothers," President Erdogan said.

"Azerbaijan was the first country to lend a helping hand to Türkiye amid the devastating earthquake in Kahramanmarash. This is the manifestation of the slogan One Nation, Two States and also an indicator that our countries share a common fate,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ceyhun Bayramov, who visited the affected Kahramanmarash province. Cavusoglu recalled that his Azerbaijani counterpart was the first foreign representative to express condolences in a telephone conversation and then visited the disaster zone in Türkiye. "Azerbaijan once again came to Türkiye's aid, just as it did when extinguishing the fires in Antalya and Mugla," Cavusoglu said.

"We always stand in solidarity with our Azerbaijani brothers. Indeed, the biggest support we received was again from the Azerbaijanis. All of Türkiye talks about the Azerbaijani citizen who loaded his household items into his old car and brought them to help. We always feel the support of the Azerbaijanis," Mehmet Altintas, responsible for humanitarian diplomacy at the Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Aid Foundation of Türkiye, said.

Searching for the Azerbaijani victims of the quake

The Azerbaijani embassy to Türkiye launched a hotline for the evacuation of its nationals from the earthquake zone. During the press conference in Kahramanmarash, Minister Ceyhun Bayramov confirmed that they have yet to receive any information about several Azerbaijani citizens missing in Türkiye after the disaster.

He noted that five Azerbaijani citizens have so far been reported dead as a result of the quake. "The relatives of one of them decided to bury him in Türkiye. The bodies of the rest have been delivered to Azerbaijan. There are nationals of Azerbaijan still remaining in the disaster zone and the search for them continues,” Minister Bayramov said.

As of writing, a total of 464 Azerbaijani citizens and their close relatives, which are the citizens of other countries, have been evacuated from the disaster zone, Aykhan Hajizade, head of the Press Service Department of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reported. The evacuation process continues.

The rest of the Turkic world

The Turkic world has united to help and support Türkiye amid the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Statements of solidarity and support have been issued by the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS). Authorities of the OTS member and observer states, as well as Azerbaijan, have dispatched their rescue teams, field hospitals, medical personnel, technical equipment and humanitarian aid to the disaster zone. The heads of state and government of the Turkic-speaking states expressed their condolences and words of support to the President of Türkiye in telephone conversations. The Secretary General of the OTS, Kubanychbek Omuraliev, expressed his condolences to the people and leadership of Türkiye, expressing solidarity with Ankara. Following the announcement of the national mourning period in Türkiye, all flags have been lowered at the headquarters of the Organisation of Turkic States.

Since the first days of the earthquake, rescue teams from Turkic countries have arrived in the affected areas of Türkiye. Thanks to their dedication, dozens of people have been rescued from under the rubble. The OTS secretariat continues to help the affected people.

On February 6, a total of 99 countries offered aid to Türkiye in the aftermath of the disaster. 20 states have expressed their readiness to deploy 23 field hospitals in Turkish provinces. More than 45 countries have responded to the urgent call for support from the Turkish authorities. Dozens of states and organisations have offered assistance for rescue works in the south-east of the country and north-west of neighbouring Syria, which have been hit by the earthquakes. Spain and several other EU member states have sent equipment for debris removal and search and rescue teams. The US stated its readiness to help people "on both sides" of the Turkish-Syrian border affected by the quake, with Washington ruling out direct engagement with the Syrian government. Greece, which has uneasy relations with Türkiye, has sent a team of 21 rescuers, five doctors, seismic safety experts and a civil engineer to the disaster area. Israeli authorities have dispatched an army rescue team to the region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a request for humanitarian aid for Syria received through a diplomatic representative.