https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0dypw50
Today I’ve spoken with Mark Cummings on his breakfast radio.
I’m quite a terrible speaker in the early morning, but, dear friends in Syria and Turkey, I’ve tried to advocate for:
-UN convoys that provide an earthquake specific response, not general, standardised stuff
-The need for the UN to end its own bureaucracy, which, as seen, can literally KILL people
-The power of grassroots organisations, which, however, often have no means to dig people out of the rubble (so, advocating for aid effectiveness in over-resourced organisations is still important)
-The Syrian crossing point of Bab al-Hawa was already used for humanitarian purposes, so no substantial “humanitarian effort” had been made while it was paraded as such in the media last week
I know the current situation makes us think that we need humanitarian aid more than ever (and, at this point, YES, we do), but, with a longer-term perspective, we should think of longstanding efforts towards safe and just infrastructure, which kill people during and outside of crisis.
Andrea Glioti
Estella Carpi
mabisir ما بيصير 