The Baden-Württemberg state parliament held a minute’s silence on Wednesday to commemorate the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families,” said President Muhterem Aras at the beginning of the plenary session. “We share their pain and grief.” The Greens politician also recalled the great willingness to help in Baden-Württemberg and thanked them.
Task forces from Baden-Württemberg were a natural part of the international relief efforts, said Aras. “They did superhuman things and were able to save lives.” Many volunteers brought relief supplies to the earthquake area and helped where the political situation permitted. “The waves of helpfulness are encouraging. They show that our civil society is vibrant and powerful,” said Aras. “Our democracy is strong.”
On February 6, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 shook southeast Turkey and northwest Syria. This was followed by more than 9,000 aftershocks, according to Turkish sources. Almost three weeks after the earthquake disaster, the number of deaths in Turkey has risen to 44,374 so far. 5,900 deaths were recently reported from Syria. According to the Turkish government, around 20 million people in the country are affected by the effects. The United Nations assumes that around 8.8 million people will be affected in Syria.
