On Monday, 13 FEB 23, Juliana Taimoorazy, President of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council (#ICRC), joins me on New Paradigms w/Sargis Sangari EP #137 to discuss coordinating Humanitarian Assistance (#HA) in response to the devastating #Earthquake which hit #Syria and #Turkey.  

During our discussion, Juliana discussed how difficult it is to move aid into Syria, given the U.S. #embargo and #sanctions. However, as her organization’s lawyers are involved in trying to see what is legal, Juliana plans on being on the ground in Turkey and #Jordan to coordinate the regional efforts and capture the story of the #Assyrian #Christian refugees and all others affected by the earthquake.  

Even though The United States has issued a six-month sanctions exemption for all transactions related to providing disaster relief to Syria, most USD wires are limited, and USAID – Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance still needs to contract support for Syria earthquake relief.  

Unfortunately, the short-term sanction relief still needs to be clarified, given that it does not assure the fears of private institutions making money transfers, avoiding working with Syria out of fear they will run afoul of sanction rules. However, USAID has set up an organization for information on donations called the Center for International Disaster Information (#CIDI), which lists credible and influential organizations to give money to in support of the more significant Aid efforts. 

#SamanthaPower, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (#USAID), stressed in her Monday interview that what the humanitarian organizations need the most now is money given they can buy locally.  

In Turkey, ICRC is working to enhance its I Adopt a Refugee program which also helps with refugee support in #Lebanon and Jordan. The on-the-ground lead for ICRC in Turkey is Father Remzi Adday Diril of the Chaldean #Archdiocese of #Istanbul. In just the first few hours of the earthquake, Father Diril led a two-van convoy filled with HA eight hours through the snow-filled passes to the earthquake zone. He can be responsive, but the organization still needs funding. 

ICRC had planned a fact-finding trip three months before the earthquake to capture the story of some 22,000 #Assyrian #refugees still waiting for a resolution to their status in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon. She planned to work with Assyrians Without Boarders, a #Swedish non-profit organization aiding Assyrians. 

I offered support from our 501c3 United Assyrian Appeal (#UAA) to ensure unity of effort is achieved in the region in light of the shortfalls of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (#UNHCR) inability to help the Assyrians who have been refugees across the #NearEast for almost a decade. It is now the job of international non-governmental organizations (#IGO and #NGO) to step in to save lives.

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