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“The first time as a tragedy, the second as a farce” wrote a certain Karl Marx, about History. We prefer the formula “our archives also comment on the present” or even better “the present has its roots in history”.
This is the purpose of this weekly publication in which we will publish articles from our archives which resonate with current events.
The earthquakes that have just occurred in the large geographical area of Syrian and Turkish Kurdistan are no surprise for scientists. They occurred in the middle of the night and resulted in several thousand victims, killed and injured, as well as a number of “homeless”.
We would have expected their occurrence more on the Istanbul side.
The recorded violence of the tremors, up to the magnitude of 7.5 and 7.8, in this area prone to earthquakes, resulted in the provisional figures of more than 2,800 deaths and 10,000 injured for the entire region concerned.
This area of destruction also includes the one where the Turkish regime was considering recently to “relocate” its Syrian refugees, once it would have reoccupied the territories beyond the border — as it has already done in Afrin, a city and region also affected by the disaster.
These earthquakes, in the middle of the winter season, affect half of this war zone, in a context where refugees and homeless are already legion, where the Syrian regime is destitute, where hospitals are without blood supplies, and where the military and militias rule, steeped in corruption. Fortunately, Rojava seems less directly affected.
On the Turkish side, this disaster comes on the eve of the elections; if it puts an end to immediate ambitions to invade Northern Syria, it will bring to the forefront the mafia-like practices in the construction sectors, the prevalence of corruption over risk prevention, the way in which ignorance has replaced scientific warnings.
Given the tardy and erratic implementation of relief efforts, people having to work in solidarity before the arrival of assistance from “the State”, is already the object of justified polemics.
In this context, we invite you to reread these articles which shed light on what has not changed for two decades, and will only increase for the victims all the difficulties they are already experiencing.
We extend our full solidarity to them. Fortunately, for the time being, we have received reassuring news from our relatives and friends.
On January 24, 2020 in Turkey, already in the same seismic zone, the city of Elazığ suffered considerable damage. Today, this same city marks the North East limit of the earthquakes for which the figure of more than 1600 victims has already been announced, on Syrian and Turkish territories, including those in the geographical area of Kurdistan. Every word of this first publication now applies, word for word, especially with the upcoming presidential elections in May.
Article of January 26, 2020 by Lila Montana
Article from February 3, 2020 by Sara Aktaş
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