IRU, as the oldest and largest International Roma Organization, together with its President Zoran Dimov, as well as its membership, is preparing a response to the relevant institutions in the Republic of Turkey, as well as to the European Union and the UN, due to the received information about the unequal treatment of the Roma community in rehabilitation. and helping the Roma community in the region that was affected by the catastrophic earthquake on February 6 of this year, with the epicenter in the Pazardzhik district of the Kahramanmaras province. IRU and concerned according to the information from the IRU delegate from Turkey, Mr. Kemal Vural Tarlan who is himself from the city of Gaziantep which was affected by the catastrophic earthquake.
The earthquake hit the neighboring provinces of Adiyaman, Kilis, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Malatya, as well as Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana and Hatay, where about 13.5 million people live, including about 2 million Syrian refugees. According to the WHO, the affected regions in Turkey and Syria are home to about 23 million people, including 1.4 million children. But that number also includes the Roma community, which is percentageally large in those parts.
According to the latest data, over 40,000 people lost their lives, and over 110,000 people were injured. But unfortunately, the number of the Roma community is not known. Damage surveys show that 56,080 buildings and structures in 10 provinces have collapsed or are severely damaged. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport reported that a total of 237,000 people were evacuated from the disaster area.
But the question arises whether the Roma from these provinces are adequately taken care of or are they left to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, all this information is currently unavailable, but the IRU is preparing a reaction that will be forwarded to the relevant institutions in the Republic of Turkey, as well as to the European Union and the UN and other international institutions, in order to lead in these extremely difficult moments for that people who are located in those parts of Turkey, including the Roma, so that they are not forgotten by the state and international institutions, including the people of Syria and the Roma from those regions.
