Earthquakes leave Turkey shaken up

dards. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s cronies were given amnesty for compliance with the building codes in exchange for large political donations to Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party (AKP).

ruption is to strengthen the civil society and independent media. Turkish officials need to be held accountable for their crimes. That starts with exposing malfeasance.

rupt the U.S. intent. An alternative would be to give the money to international NGOs. This would allow the funds to be monitored.

On February 6, an earthquake erupted in Hatay Province Antakya, Turkey. So far there have been over 40,000 deaths with an unknown number of people still buried under the rumble. The U.S. pledged 185 million dollars for earthquake relief. The Turkish government has proven itself to be callous, negligent, and corrupt. The high death toll from the natural disaster was a result of the government’s failure to enforce building codes and stan -

Turks are enraged by the earthquake response. With national elections coming up in May, Turkish voters may punish the AKP. If elections are free and fair Erdoğan will lose the popular vote, although there are doubts that Erdoğan will allow all ballots to be counted. Many of the peoples’ views are not effectively represented in the national government. Smaller contractors have been rounded up and scapegoated, indicative of the widespread negligence and corruption that exist within the Turkish government. The way to minimize cor -

Journalism and media can play an important role in highlighting corrupt practices. Turkish media are owned by conglomerates, diversified companies with construction interests that benefit from government contracts. The Turkish government awards them big contracts, buying their silence. Independent media has been suppressed or punished with taxes and other penalties, if they go against the government.

The U.S. is faced with a dilemma: it wants to help earthquake victims but is wary of giving it earthquake assistance to the government which could steal the funds and cor -

The U.S. shouldn’t neglect human suffering, but also, doesn’t want to be ripped off. Some question whether the US should be donating its funds in the first place. As a world power, the U.S. should play a role in saving victims. However, they need to set up monitoring and accountability mechanisms. In order to help the Turks, the international community must work through NGOs to circumvent the Turkish government and cooperate directly with the earthquake affected population.The humanitarian imperative is greater than concerns about Turkey’s integrity.