Singapore Red Cross to send additional $1 million for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) will contribute an additional $1 million to

victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria

, on top of the US$100,000 (S$132,600) it had originally pledged.

It said on Tuesday that Turkey and Syria will each receive $400,000, with the remaining $200,000 given to support the humanitarian activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is working with Syrian Arab Red Crescent to help affected communities, including providing emergency relief and livelihood support.

In Turkey, the money will be disbursed to the Turkish Red Crescent Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and will be used to meet the immediate and early recovery needs of victims. These include purchasing and distributing food and water, as well as tents, blankets and other items to house those who have been displaced by the earthquake. The money will also be used to support mental and physical health services for vulnerable groups.

In Syria, the money will support IFRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

Besides providing victims with necessities and shelter, SRC has also set aside $100,000 for freight and logistical costs for the possible shipment of relief supplies such as medicine to Turkey and Syria.  

SRC revealed that it had raised more than $3 million from Feb 8 to 13 through its fund-raising appeal, with individuals, companies and schools contributing to the pool.

SRC secretary-general and chief executive Benjamin William said it was heartening to see the outpouring of care and concern by people in Singapore.

“We will continue to work closely with the IFRC, ICRC and the two national societies to ensure that the funds raised are distributed effectively and transparently, to provide the most appropriate and timely assistance on the ground,” he said. “We hope for continued support of our fund-raising efforts, to sustain our humanitarian aid to the survivors of this devastating disaster.”

SRC’s fund-raising appeal will run until May 31, and members of the public can donate online at 

redcross.sg/donate-turkey-syria

Separately, the Turkish Embassy in Singapore has asked donors

to contribute money instead of in-kind donations. Its

Facebook post on Monday cites the gradually changing needs of those in the areas struck by the devastating magnitude-7.8 earthquake on Feb 6.

Donations-in-kind have already been suspended, the embassy said, but it cautioned that donors should verify the authenticity of the organisations they were donating to.

This comes after security experts warned about an influx of online scams surrounding the disaster. These include fake disaster relief accounts and scammers asking for cryptocurrency donations.

Oftentimes, these calls for donations are paired with images allegedly showing scenes of the earthquake, with one even showing a firefighter cradling a child pulled from the rubble.

Greek newspaper Oema reported that the firefighter image was a digital one created by the artificial intelligence image generator Midjourney.