The February 6 earthquake devastated Turkiye and Syria. Destruction and death are everywhere.
In Syria the earthquake came after 11 years of bloodbath carried out by the dictator Bashar al-Assad and his Iranian and Russian allies.
According to the World Bank the economy shrank more than 50% between 2010 and 2020. The Syrian Pound collapsed and the purchasing power of the working families were shattered. There is not enough fuel so that in some neighborhoods of Damascus and Ghouta, the people must burn rubbish and wood to heat their families during harsh winters. Access to clean water is scarce in North East Syria driving people to drink polluted water from the Euphrates river. People do not take to the streets to protest due to the dictatorship repression and shabiha spies.
The situation in the areas out of the control of the Syrian regime in the North West like Idlib, Afrin and northern areas of Aleppo province is very bad as well. Around 4.6 million people, the majority of them displaced people from other areas in Syria, are under siege by Syrian regime-Iranian-Russian forces. There is only one passage – Bab al-Hawa, on the border with Turkiye through which humanitarian aid is allowed to come in. Around 80% of the human needs of all inhabitants goes through Bab al-Hawa. Many families live in camps and other precarious housing, and the bombardment by Syrian and Russian planes, plus the economic crisis in Turkiye strongly affected the local living conditions. The International Aid is half of the necessary to meet the refugees’ families needs.
The earthquake found a country which had already been devastated by the dictatorship and made things worse.
In the regime-controlled areas, the Iranian and Russian troops did not do anything to help the people. Many countries committed themselves to help although nothing arrived up to now. Even the Zionist Entity offered “help” to Syria while killing five Palestinian in Jericho.
In the areas out-of-control, no aid has arrived. The road that connects Gaziantep and Reyhanli was disrupted by the earthquake, making it more challenging to get through Bab al-Hawa. The Syrian regime not only did not open any other passage but sent out planes to bombard Marea city.
End Bashar-led Regime to Help Syria
The earthquake exposed a devastated country. The regime has done nothing to rebuild the economy and the country. Agriculture is devastated and food must be imported. Few destroyed neighbors were reconstructed. There is no plan by the dictatorship to improve wages or living conditions. Part of the humanitarian aid is diverted to the pockets of the corrupt Syrian bourgeoisie who are connected to the regime. The Iranian and Russian militias and troops rule the country.
It is necessary to rebuild the links between the Syrian working people in and out of Syria in order to build solidarity with the people devastated by the earthquake as a first step to restart the struggle to expel the foreign armed forces as well as to end the regime.
