Spain plans to host over 100 'particularly vulnerable' Syrian refugees

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Feb 17:51
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The Spanish government says the effort to receive quake-affected refugees will be in coordination with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

People walk past collapsed buildings in the town of Jinderis, in Syria's Aleppo Province, days after a massive earthquake devastated the region on Thursday, February 11, 2023. (AP)

Spain will coordinate with the UN to host over 100 Syrian refugees that were impacted by the earthquake that struck the country last week.

"The earthquake reminds us enormously of the tragedy in Syria. We will try, within our capabilities, to contribute, and we will work with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the coming weeks to bring to Spain as refugees over 100 people located in Syria and recognized as particularly vulnerable and particularly affected by the earthquake," said Spanish Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Jose Luis Escriva said on Friday in an address at the Desalambre Award.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said last week that Madrid will assist quake-struck Turkey and Syria and will not discriminate between the victims of both countries.

The United Nations discriminates against victims

The United Nations on Wednesday said $5.6 billion was needed to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine and to the millions who have fled the country after the start of the war, a day after it announced a $397 million humanitarian appeal to aid quake-hit Syria for only three months until May.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the launch of a $397 million humanitarian appeal to aid Syria in the wake of the devastating earthquake, which has so far resulted in over 6,000 deaths and tens of thousands of injuries.

The organization estimated that 8.8 million people have been affected by the earthquake and its aftershocks in Syria. More than 4.2 million people have been affected by the earthquake in Aleppo, while 3 million people have been affected in Idlib, the UN noted, adding that more than 7,400 buildings have been entirely or partially destroyed.

The UN also estimated that up to 5.3 million people in Syria may have been made homeless as a result of the earthquake and its aftershocks.

“We all know that lifesaving aid has not been getting in at the speed and scale needed. The scale of this disaster is one of the worst in recent memory,” Guterres admitted, adding, "This is a moment for unity, for common humanity and concerted action."

'We have failed the people in northwest Syria'

The UN confessed last Sunday that the international community has so far abandoned Syrians as they struggle to secure basic needs and aid to respond to the devastating earthquake that struck the country.

UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said although a convoy of supplies was delivered by the organization to northwest Syria through Turkey, the effort was not enough as millions more have been impacted by the catastrophe.

"We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn't arrived," he tweeted.

"My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can. That’s my focus now," Griffiths indicated.

Turkey-Syria Earthquake

Thousands have been killed and tens of thousands injured after a powerful earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday. The magnitude 7.8 quake was one of the strongest to strike the area in more than a century. Rescue workers are digging through debris in freezing conditions, while the death toll is on the rise.