UN chief António Guterres is nowhere to be seen in Turkey or Syria.
For five days the world has been seeing apocalyptic scenes of disaster, devastation and death in southern Turkiye and northern Syria. It is reported that over 22,000 people have died and some 75,000 people are injured. The magnitude of the earthquake has destroyed thousands of buildings. So millions are without homes. It is the seventh worst disaster of this century.
Aljazeera channel has been extensively covering the cities hit by a monster earthquake. The Indian media has done extensive coverage of the desolate scenes at Hatay and Noordagi in Turkiye. They have informed Indian audiences of the unimaginable catastrophe caused by the earthquake. Both cities have been reduced to dust. One sees terrifying scenes of collapsed buildings, mountains of rubble and the stunned people who are experiencing tragedies of numerous kinds. Millions are without food, water, shelter and fuel in sub-zero temperatures. Gaziantep and Adana in Turkey are particularly affected. We see survivors standing in despair amidst mountains of rubble. Rescue workers were removing rubble with bare hands as they searched for survivors. Lack of equipment and machinery, the paralysing cold and snowfall have hampered rescue operations.
In the Syrian city of Jandari we saw a heart wrenching scene of a father grieving for all his six children and wife. “I prayed to God to spare at least one child,” he sobbed, holding photos of his children. Another tragic figure wept, “I blame no one. This is an act of God.”
Despite these challenges rescue workers in both Turkiye and Syria are working even after nightfall with torches to search for survivors. And when hope fades, they continue to dig to recover dead bodies and cover the remains to provide dignity in death.
Indians should be proud of the spontaneous assistance given to quake hit Turkiye and Syria. This has been appropriately called Operation Dost (Friend). The government has shown unwavering humanism in rushing much needed help to Syria where Western sanctions seem to have prevented much needed aid. Makeshift hospitals have been established, Army personnel and trained dogs are assisting rescue teams, and medical staff are tending to the wounded. Citizens of both Syria and Turkiye have expressed their gratitude for Indian aid.
While touring his country President Erdogan of Turkiye stated that such a calamity has not hit his country for a century. President Bashar al Assad of Syria and his wife went to the city of Aleppo to assess the extent of the damage. It was good to see the Indian Ambassador to Turkiye at quake hit Noordagi, narrating the nature of Indian assistance to Indian media persons.
Many nations have rushed to help the two nations.
But the United Nations, which is meant to provide succour and sympathy for those hit by wars and natural calamities, has failed to respond appropriately. A Western media channel lamented that UN relief has covered only 5% of the devastated areas. António Guterres, Secretary General of UN, has offered more sympathy than sustenance.
When I was growing up in the last century, there was a heroic Secretary General of the United Nations. His name was Dag Hammarskjold. He was Swedish by birth and a true world citizen by commitment. One of my cherished childhood memories is meeting him at my parents’ home in New York, before he became the Secretary General. He was admired for his brilliance and erudition, but more for his courage and deep humanism. He refused to be dictated to by powerful nations. He was present at scenes of disasters. A civil war raged in Congo in 1961, where colonial powers tried to cling to their possessions through terrible carnage. Dag Hammarskjold decided to visit Congo to resolve the crisis. He was advised not to go since UN intelligence had information that there could be an attempt on his life because his sympathy was with the Congolese fighting for freedom. As feared, the aircraft on which he was flying crashed over Rhodesia, a bastion of white supremacy. I remember how on that September dusk the United Nations flag was lowered to half-mast at the Food and Agricultural Organization in Rome, where my father was posted. Pedestrians paused to weep, cars stopped honking and slowed down in homage. It seemed as if the world stood still in angry grief.
The world mourned Dag Hammarskjold’s death because he belonged to the world as befits the head of the United Nations.
It would have been heartening for the people of the two disaster hit nations to see Mr António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, at the scene of disasters in Turkiye and Syria. He found time to visit a bombed town in Ukraine.
White lives do matter more.
Achala Moulik is a former Education Secretary, Government of India, and former Director General Archaeological Survey of India. She has published numerous books on history, international relations, cultural heritage and novels.