Tragedy in Turkey

Even as the death toll climbs in devastated Turkey, critics of the way the Turkish government has handled the aftermath of the earthquake point to shoddy buildings, a slow response and disorganized rescue operations. The charges may turn out to be true, but what is important for other nations now is to focus solely on helping the victims of this tragedy.

With more than 6,000 dead and many thousand more still missing, Turkey’s Minister of Public Works and Housing Koray Aydin concluded that, “We are facing the greatest natural disaster in the history of the Turkish Republic.” More than 1,000 relief workers from 19 countries have arrived in the last few days to try to help and their reports, coupled with those of distraught families, describe a nation unprepared to deal with a calamity of this size.

There will be plenty of time for Turkey and international aid organizations to dissect the nation’s response to the massive earthquake. But there is a greater mission now. Relief workers have a legitimate concern that governments or individual donors might withhold support if the criticism about the Turkish government drowns out the critical need for help. Fortunately so far, the United States and other nations have been rushing search equipment, supplies and search dogs to the stricken areas.

With some neighborhoods of Istanbul being so thoroughly leveled, many more long days and weeks of recovery are required. It will demand a level of coordination that cannot be helped by pointing out even obvious failures. That reckoning will come when it is time to rebuild the city.