It is amongst Türkiye’s high priorities to construct protected and everlasting housing models for the survivors of “the disaster of the century”, says Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun.
(AA)
Türkiye is “working hard” to rebuild its southern provinces hit by highly effective earthquakes final month and to heal victims’ wounds, the nation’s communications director has stated.
“We are working hard to rebuild and improve all 11 provinces. Our state did not abandon its citizens in Van, Elazig or Izmir in the past. We will also stand with our brothers and sisters that were hurt by the ‘disaster of the century’,” Fahrettin Altun stated on the closing session of a panel in Brussels on Monday.
“In this sense, we heal the wounds and reverse the damage to the region’s economic life, demographics, culture, historical heritage and environment,” Altun added on the occasion, titled Solidarity to Overcome Disaster and organised by the European Parliament.
On February 6, the magnitude 7.7 and seven.6 quakes struck 11 provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa, and claimed the lives of greater than 48,445 folks.
More than 13.5 million folks in Türkiye have been affected by the devastating quakes, in addition to many others in northern Syria.
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‘Difficult interval’
Stressing that Türkiye was going via a “difficult period,” Altun stated that although the earthquakes have been centred in Kahramanmaras, all of Türkiye was shaken.
“But even people with no ties to the region were deeply wounded. Despite the weight of this burden and the difficulty of this test, the Turkish state and people got back on their feet together,” he stated.
With all its establishments and underneath the coordination of its catastrophe administration company AFAD, Türkiye launched rescue efforts and started addressing fundamental wants like meals and shelter, added Altun.
“At the same time, our friends abroad – including many European governments – answered Türkiye’s call. They made cash and in-kind donations as well as deployed their search-and-rescue teams to save many lives.”
Altun underlined that it’s amongst Türkiye’s priorities to construct protected and everlasting housing models for the survivors and to ship these to them inside a 12 months because the nation focuses on making ready for future disasters, together with in Istanbul.
“As Our President (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) said: ‘We are determined to make Türkiye the best prepared and most rapidly responding country in the world – with common reason, common conscience, common morals, and a common vision’,” he added.
International help
Altun voiced appreciation to nations and people who stood with Türkiye on this tough time.
“Many countries sent rescue workers to Türkiye. They made cash and in-kind donations. They build field hospitals and mobile kitchens. Senior officials from many countries offered their condolences by phone or in person.
“They visited our embassies to depart messages. Some nations hosted telethons to lift funds for earthquake reduction. There is a good looking Turkish proverb: ‘A real buddy makes themselves identified in tough occasions’,” he added.
Pandemics, wars and disasters have world impacts and a brand new mannequin of worldwide cooperation ought to be developed to cease them and heal the injuries, Altun pressured.
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On an upcoming worldwide EU donors’ convention in Brussels, Altun stated: “We attach great importance to the upcoming donor conference by the European Commission. This event shall highlight the European states’ support to Türkiye and raise funds for long-term projects for earthquake survivors.”
On March 20, the European Commission and the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU will host the convention to help the folks in Türkiye and Syria affected by the current devastating earthquakes.
‘Disinformation threatens lives’
Altun stated Türkiye had accredited 1,400 worldwide media representatives to make sure that they may function safely and comfortably after the earthquakes.
He added that the Communications Directorate revealed bulletins to fight disinformation on social media platforms and responded on to faux news.
Turkish parliament handed a regulation to fight disinformation, Altun famous, stressing that many nations got here to see disinformation as a “major threat” lately.
“We have been making an attempt to cease the systematic dissemination of pretend news on social media. At the time, some folks criticised Türkiye by hiding behind freedom of expression.
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“Particularly, our European friends criticised Türkiye over a vital issue like the fight against disinformation but took very similar precautions themselves.
“Naturally, that raised some questions. After the earthquakes, nevertheless, it grew to become clear that disinformation threatens folks’s lives and property, not simply state safety,” Altun said.
International social media companies, particularly Twitter, had some shortcomings in the beginning, Altun said, adding that Türkiye had not received enough support from that platform initially.
“But, after some conferences, the corporate started to concentrate to disinformation. We are actually working intently with Twitter,” he stated.
Source: AA
Source: www.trtworld.com
