Germany to issue emergency visas to Turkish, Syrian earthquake victims
The joint initiative with the foreign ministry would allow victims to "find shelter and receive medical treatment" in Germany.
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Berlin, Feb 13: Germany will grant three-month visas to Turkish and Syrian earthquake victims with family in the country, the interior minister said on Saturday (Feb 11). "This is emergency aid," German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.
"We want to allow Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to bring their close relatives from the disaster area to their homes without bureaucracy," added Faeser. More than 28,000 people were killed in the devastating earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday (Feb 13). It reached 28,192 on Saturday (local time), with Turkey's death toll climbing to 24,617, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said in a news conference. In Syria, the total number of confirmed deaths stands at 3,575, including 2,167 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the White Helmets civil defense group.
Almost 26 million people have been affected by the deadly earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria
— Harsh K Kapoor | हर्ष कपूर ॐ 🇮🇳 (@harshkkapoor) February 12, 2023
That's tragic beyond words can explain.
But Germany to grant emergency Visas as aid to affected people. That's appears to be political rather than any meaningful aid pic.twitter.com/JPZHZLqQge
An additional 1,408 deaths have been recorded in government-controlled territories, according to Syrian state media, which cited the country's health ministry. Faeser said that those eligible can have "regular visas, issued quickly and valid for three months". She added that the joint initiative with the foreign ministry would allow victims to "find shelter and receive medical treatment" in Germany. Around 2.9 million people of Turkish origin live in Germany, with more than half holding Turkish nationality. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday announced a three-month state of emergency in the 10 provinces in southeastern Turkey impacted by the tremor.
Earlier, Germany has also suspended rescue and relief work at the site of a deadly earthquake in Turkey due to security concerns, following a similar move by Austria earlier Saturday, reported CNN. The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) stopped its rescue operations due to a change in the security situation in the Hatay region, the organization said in a statement Saturday (Feb 11). It had been operating with International Search and Rescue (ISAR) Germany, in coordination with Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).
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