On February 6, 2023, the earthquake that took tens of thousands of lives, injured and left hundreds of thousands of lives under rubble did not discriminate between nationality, language, religion, citizen/refugee, and deeply destroyed every soul of this country, including our 10 provinces. The humanitarian aid efforts initiated after this great disaster must be carried out within the framework of the "four main principles of humanitarian aid". Non-discrimination and Impartiality are two of the four core principles of humanitarian aid. According to the principle of non-discrimination, humanitarian aid should be provided only on the basis of need, prioritizing the most urgent crisis situations, and not discriminating on the basis of nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, class or political opinion. The principle of neutrality requires humanitarian actors not to take sides in their work or engage in political, racial, religious or ideological debates. However, after this great disaster, the basic principles of humanitarian aid should not be included in the plans for the evacuation of the earthquake victims from the region and in the support of shelter outside the region; We follow with great concern the news about discriminatory attitudes in aid distribution and hate crimes that sometimes reach physical violence with the perception of "looters" created by some politicians and social and traditional media.

According to the data of the Directorate of Migration Management, the number of registered refugees living in the 10 provinces affected by the earthquake is at least 1.7 million. Following the announcement that foreigners under temporary protection and international protection who live in the earthquake area and want to go to other provinces outside of Istanbul, will not be required to obtain a "road permit" before travelling, and they can obtain a 90-day road permit in the province they go to, the Directorate of Migration Management announced that the relatives of the refugees who were victims of the earthquake and He advised them to go to provinces where they could meet their basic needs, especially shelter, and stated that public institutions and organizations would not provide accommodation for earthquake victims outside the earthquake zone. As a matter of fact, following the unfounded allegations shared on social media and denied by government and opposition officials, news appeared in the press that refugees placed in student dormitories in the surrounding provinces were removed from the dormitories. Information was shared that a group of earthquake victims were expelled from the temporary shelters where they had been sheltering for years.

It was stated that public institutions and organizations, including local governments, would not be able to benefit from the shelter support outside the earthquake zone, and that non-governmental organizations would not be allowed to provide accommodation support to the earthquake victims.

It has been announced that AFAD's evacuation from the earthquake area by air will not benefit the earthquake victims and they will not be taken to airports as of 10.02.2023.

In short, it was said that "if you do not have a relative to provide you with shelter or the power to rent a house, you cannot leave the earthquake zone even if your house is destroyed." It was stated that only refugees who can arrange their own accommodation will be granted a 90-day travel/stay permit. It is understood from this decision that at the end of the 90-day period, the refugees will have to return to the earthquake zone. It is obvious that serious humanitarian difficulties will arise if this decision is implemented without considering factors such as the psychological and physical health of the earthquake victims, whether the place where they live in the earthquake area has been destroyed, whether there will be suitable conditions for accommodation and living in the region at the end of 90 days, whether there will be access to services.

Refugees, who were not included in the evacuation plans of AFAD and the shelter facilities provided by public institutions and organizations for earthquake victims outside the region, were bombarded with intense discrimination and hate speech from the first day of the earthquake in some politicians and traditional media channels and social media posts. After some posts on social media that refugees should be excluded in search-and-rescue and humanitarian aid efforts, this discriminatory discourse turned into a 'predatory' refugee discourse. Unfortunately, some political and traditional media circles directly or indirectly participated in and encouraged this hate speech targeting the entire refugee community.

While the disaster does not discriminate between citizens and refugees, it is necessary to initiate administrative and criminal processes and to effectively initiate administrative and criminal processes against those who commit hate crimes as a group, and those who use verbal, psychological and physical violence by targeting refugees who were equally affected by the earthquake, whose lives were destroyed, whose houses were destroyed, and who are waiting for their relatives under the rubble. We demand execution.

We demand that the humanitarian aid activities and support planning of the state and local governments and civil society for earthquake victims in the earthquake area and provinces outside the region be carried out for the entire affected population, including the earthquake victims, within the framework of the principles of non-discrimination and impartiality, which are the basic principles of humanitarian aid.

Once again, we convey our best wishes to all those affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

ASSOCIATION FOR SOLIDARITY WITH REFUGEES

 

Public Statement