Catalonia to send €2m in humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria

Catalonia will be allocating €2m towards relief efforts in Turkey and Syria following the earthquakes earlier this week that have killed and injured thousands and left large swaths of the region in ruins. 

This is what Catalan president Pere Aragonès announced on Thursday evening from Perpignan, where he was as part of his visit to Northern Catalonia in France. 

"As a government, we want to contribute," he said, describing it as a matter of "responsibility in the face of great international challenges and an emergency."

A portion of the funds will be given to international organizations and charities working in the area, while some of it will be used to send Catalan government personnel to the region to help with these efforts. 

The president said that they had made Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra police canine units and fire department search and rescue teams available to local authorities in the affected territories as well as debris-removing devices from the Catalan Waste Agency. 

This comes following the Catalan Emergency Humanitarian Aid Committee meeting on Wednesday to determine the needs on the ground and to assess how best to help. 

The Catalan government has also created a website with information on how people in Catalonia can help by donating to a list of trustworthy organizations. The site recommends giving money rather than sending material goods that may not be needed or could pose logistical, environmental, or financial issues. 

Other aid efforts

K9 Creixell, a canine search and rescue charity from southern Catalonia, has had an experienced team of 6 people and 5 dogs in the area since Tuesday evening, while search and rescue squads have also been sent from other parts of Spain. 

The Turkish consulate in Barcelona started a donation drive. Volunteers at a warehouse located at 57 Avinguda Bon Pastor avenue in Sant Adrià de Besòs, directly north of Barcelona, have been collecting and sorting winter clothes and other items for survivors that Turkish Airlines will send to the country on Friday.