A devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck various regions of Kurdistan, Syria and Turkey on 6 February. As of 20 March the death toll from this disaster had surpassed 57,000, with over 50,000 people killed in Turkey, according to the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, and over 7,200 people killed in Syria.
On 11 February, a contingent of disaster response and disease control specialists from Cuba’s Henry Reeve Brigade arrived in Turkey. The Henry Reeve Brigade was founded in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and specialises in disaster relief and major epidemics. The brigade has previously been deployed to over 40 countries and was involved in several earthquake relief missions, including Kashmir in 2005, as well as Haiti and Chile in 2010. This Brigade is part of Cuba’s famous ‘army of white coats’ which has been sent around the world to disasters and disease epidemics since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
The first brigade to Turkey consisted of 32 medical personnel (20 specialists and 12 graduates, including nurses, epidemiologists, and service personnel) and worked in Kahramanmaraş Province for most of its deployment. Almost 70% of the Cuban medical team had prior experience in internationalist emergency missions, which prepared them for the situation they found themselves in, with severely damaged hospitals and unrelenting pressure. The Syrian ambassador to Cuba also confirmed the deployment of 27 Cuban medical personnel to Syria. The members of the brigade to Turkey returned after 24 days of intensive work, treating 3,755 patients in total including 620 children.
Venezuela sent medical and earthquake specialists from the Simon Bolivar Humanitarian Task Force to Syria, concentrating their efforts in Latakia, an area which had received little assistance. With them, they brought 12 tonnes of medicine, food, and drinking water for the Syrian people. The Bolivarian Republic also sent 25 firefighters, three search and rescue teams with rescue dogs who travelled to the most affected cities in the regions.
Venezuela and Cuba are among the few countries that have sent humanitarian aid to Syria despite sanctions imposed on all three countries by the US and its allies. ‘We are here to help the Syrian people deal with the aftermath of the earthquake,’ stated Venezuelan ambassador to Syria Jose Biomorji, ‘We are with them in these difficult circumstances, despite all the sanctions imposed on our countries’.
Cuba and Venezuela show the way forward; international solidarity is vital. As we extend solidarity to the people of Kurdistan, Syria and Turkey who have faced this terrible tragedy, we must support Cuba and Venezuela who defied US sanctions in order to help the victims of the disaster.
Jack Lewis
FIGHT RACISM! FIGHT IMPERIALISM! 293 April/May 2023
