The non-governmental organization World Vision has warned of the risk to children in Syria of exploitation and abuse in the aftermath of Monday’s earthquakes in southern Turkey, near the common border, which have left more than 11,000 people dead in both countries.
«As in other emergencies World Vision has responded to in the past, Syrian children affected by last Monday’s devastating earthquake are now extremely vulnerable, even more so than before,» said the NGO’s Syria response director, Johan Mooij.
Thus, he has stressed that «hundreds of thousands» of minors «are now homeless», while «some have been separated from their families, which further increases the risk of being exploited or abused». «In the early stages of a crisis, when emergency action is taken to meet the urgent needs of vulnerable people, protection systems can struggle to develop quickly enough,» he said.
«Unfortunately, there are those who take advantage of this vulnerability and exploit these children at a time when they need support and protection the most. As a child-focused organization, the safety and protection of children is World Vision’s top priority and is central to our response to this emergency,» he said.
«In northern Syria, in particular, the threats to children from abuse were already extreme. Increasing poverty within a war zone, now devastated by earthquakes, has created an unimaginable number of challenges and suffering for children,» he stressed.
The organization is therefore carrying out a rapid assessment in both Syria and Turkey, and has begun distributing fuel and heating systems to shelters so that families can stay there safely and are protected from the low winter temperatures, which have at times been below zero degrees Celsius.
In this regard, Mooij stressed that «humanitarian needs were already extremely acute in northwest Syria, and this devastating earthquake has added trauma to the crisis there,» before adding that «health facilities were already ill-equipped and unable to cope with the needs, but now many have been destroyed.»
«Families are trying to survive without homes, without access to food, in sub-zero temperatures, while trying to cope with the physical and mental impact of this earthquake. We call on the international community to prioritize these people, who have already suffered so much,» he stressed.
In doing so, the NGO has called for rapid and unrestricted access to the most affected areas in Syria and has asked to urgently mobilize resources to support those affected. «It is essential that children, who are now even more vulnerable and at risk of exploitation, are able to return to their homes and schools as soon as possible,» Mooij reiterated.
«They are currently struggling to survive in sub-zero temperatures, exposed to the spread of disease and various protection risks, such as child labor or early marriage, and other forms of exploitation and abuse. We must do all we can to protect them now and in the future,» he said. «They, like all the world’s children, deserve a childhood and a chance to live to the fullest,» he concluded.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
