It is instructive that a significant portion of the emergency earthquake aid being provided to Syria is coming from the nations of the Global South—not the “West” and not Global NATO. Yes, some Western aid is making its way to Syria, but not quickly and not much. According to the Syrian press agency, SANA, transport planes from the UAE, Iran, Oman, Egypt, Iraq, Armenia, China, India, Pakistan, and Russia have landed in Syria loaded with aid. Lebanon has made its sea and airports available for aid shipments that are headed to Syria, and even the Palestinian Authority has sent a rescue team. Hong Kong and Malaysia have sent rescue teams of 50 and 70 people, respectively.
India’s response was impressive, RT reports. Within 12 hours of the earthquake striking, and even before it was formally asked, the government’s disaster relief program put together 130 tons of aid to Turkey and another six tons to Syria, thanks to External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The Indian Air Force airlifted equipment and medicine, including 101 National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) personnel and 99 military medics to the disaster-hit areas. These are part of New Delhi’s human assistance and disaster relief (HADR) mission, called “Operation Dost,” which means “friends” in Hindi.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s office explained that the NDRF teams are self-contained rescue units, which include various types of equipment needed to search collapsed structures and rescue trapped survivors. The medical team will set up a 30-bed field hospital with surgical theaters, X-ray machines, and ventilators.
While the State Department bragged about the wonderful work it is doing with “our NATO ally” Turkey, Tony Blinken specified that in the Syrian case, “U.S.-supported humanitarian partners like the White Helmets"—the terrorist-supporting organization run from London—are on the scene “assessing” the situation.
