Turkey

The meeting is scheduled from 13 to 18 February near the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon. The Maronite Patriarch presided over the commemoration for the earthquake victims and displaced people. The assembly of 120 personalities from the entire region, one third of whom are lay people, is divided into 11 inter-ecclesial working groups.

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Fr Antuan Ilgıt, a Jesuit, reflects upon the past week, since a devastating earthquake struck. The cathedral might have collapsed, but Caritas is providing relief, with a thousand meals a day for the displaced and aid sent to a devastated Antakya. His thoughts also go to Syrian refugees who cannot be abandoned because “We must go where no one can or wants to go”.

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The death toll now exceeds 24,000. In Antakya, where people are making desperate appeals after losing everything, the first cases of looting are reported. Small signs of hope appear in Iskenderun, as aid arrives and power is partially restored. The earthquake is already a battleground between Erdogan and his rivals ahead of the upcoming 14 May presidential elections, now in doubt.

Today's news: The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria now exceeds 24,000; Air India signs a mega-order to buy up to 500 planes from Airbus and Boeing; food prices continue to rise steeply in Japan; many Armenians view Turkey’s earthquake as “divine punishment”; Asia is the continent with the most Internet restrictions in 2022.

The US is putting on hold some sanctions. The Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) has announced a unilateral ceasefire to facilitate relief efforts. Nuncio to Syria stresses that everyone’s efforts are needed, starting with the international community that must “overcome ideological divisions”. In Aleppo a general feeling of "precariousness" prevails. The Open Hospitals programme is open to everyone “without discrimination”.

An AsiaNews source testifies to "mutual aid" and "mutual support" in the earthquake drama. A restaurant offers free food, public schools and companies open their doors to welcome the displaced. As in the past, however, flaws seem to be emerging in the government's relief machine. Alarm also from Unesco for World Heritage sites in danger.

The death toll in Turkey and Syria now stands at 11,000. Turkish President Erdogan visits some of the hardest-hit areas, as anger mounts among survivors over the slow pace of rescue operations. Antakya, the ancient Antioch, is one of the most isolated places, hard to reach and obstacles to bringing in aid. Entire buildings were flattened as was much of the historic heart of the city. For the vicar of Anatolia, it was a symbol of openness.

The Pope calls for solidarity with those suffering from the devastating calamity during his general audience. In his address to the faithful, the pontiff retraced the stages of his peace journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, with a new warning about the "shame of those who say they give aid and sell arms". "God places his hope not in the great and powerful, but in the small and humble".

Faced with the emergency, Caritas responded quickly providing aid to everyone, Catholics and Orthodox, Christians and Muslims, Turks and migrants. “Everything is needed, from food to spiritual comfort and human support even among the refugees,” said the vicar of Anatolia. For the bishop of Aleppo, the tragedy could be an opportunity for Ankara and Damascus to “reflect about peace and working together”.

The vicar of Anatolia and president of Caritas Turkey announces the mobilisation of Christian organisations to bring aid to the stricken population. An event that "took them by surprise". Head of Caritas Anatolia speaks of "serious and extensive damage". The Hatay airport runway destroyed, hospitals also hit. Bishop Audo's testimony in Aleppo: "Great fear" for "violent tremors".