Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief is providing medical supplies and humanitarian support to Turkey and Syria following the devastating earthquakes that hit the region February 6, 2023.
Direct Relief’s Gordon Willcock, deputy director of emergency response, is in Istanbul, Turkey. He said the devastation from the earthquakes is massive and far reaching.
“I think there’s about a million people displaced in southern Turkey and it’s really cold, so people are worried about their family members. It seems that everyone you speak to knows someone from the area or has been impacted in some way. I think just the scale of the devastation is just really shocking to everyone,” Willcock said.
Willcock is in Turkey to check on Direct Relief’s shipments and work on logistics. He said, so far, the medical supplies are getting into the region as planned.
“It’s always a controlled chaos with these emergency responses. We’re trying to gather information from partners and from officials on the ground and other key people,” he said.
Getting aid to war-torn Syria is always a challenge, he said, but Direct Relief has worked in the area before and they rely on their partnerships with local organizations to get the medical aid to its final destination.
“Most of the supplies are coming in via Turkey so they have to come into Turkey and then they have to physically cross through the disaster zone in Turkey to then get to the disaster zone in Syria, so you’ve got this layering of extra problems, you’ve got snow, damaged roads, bridges,” Willcock said.
Direct Relief sends supplies to the region that are specifically requested by medical personnel on the ground. Willcock said requests have included antibiotics, oral rehydration solutions, wound-care supplies and other essential medicines, but the needs can change over time.
“The emergency evolves from a really critical phase and then other diseases and other challenges come into play, so then we adjust accordingly,” he said.
Willcock reports back to the Santa Barbara headquarters with updates and assessments.
He said Direct Relief will continue to provide medical shipments to the region as requested.
“There’s a hugely complex humanitarian environment. There’s a huge and really profound level of vulnerability amongst the population. Also, we recognize that our partners are working with a really high level of risk to themselves, so we’re doing everything we can to maintain the support, so they can keep that work going,” he said.
Willcock said a disaster with this level of destruction and so many displaced people will require a lengthy recovery time and ongoing support.
The organization provides updates at directrelief.org.
