The patriarchs and heads of Churches issue a joint statement against measures that punish the population and slow down rescue efforts. Trappist nuns speak out against sanctions that are like salt on the wounds caused by the earthquake. Syria asks the EU for aid. The United Nations urges the parties to avoid the politicisation of aid. The first convoy arrives in areas held by rebels and jihadis.

Aleppo (AsiaNews) – International sanctions and the embargo against Syria hinder relief operations and the sending of aid to the areas affected by the earthquake, which still bear the scars of more than 10 years of a war that is still ongoing in certain parts of the country.

With this in mind, leading Christian religious figures, including Trappist nuns, call on the United States and the West to loosen the chains that are currently holding Syria down.

Food, blankets, and essential relief aid should be allowed in quake-stricken areas in both government-held regions like Aleppo as well as those under jihadi and rebel control.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X (Yazigi), Syriac Orthodox Ignatius Aphrem II, Greek-Melkite Catholic Patriarch Joseph I, and all the heads of the Churches in the Arab country call want to see the “embargo on the Syrian people” lifted.

“[T]housands of Syrians lost their lives, many churches, institutions and homes were destroyed and a large number of families were displaced,” reads a statement issued by the prelates.

“This natural disaster adds to the ordeal of the Syrian people, who continue to suffer from the tragedies of war, crises, disasters, epidemics, and [. . .] the absence of indispensable materials, medications, and daily basic necessities needed in order for people to survive and live in dignity.”

In light of the situation, Church leaders appeal to the United Nations and to the countries that have imposed sanctions on Syria, above all the United States “to lift the embargo” that hurts only civilians and “take exceptional measures and immediate initiatives to secure the delivery of the much-needed relief and humanitarian aid.”

While praying for the victims, the Christian leaders urge “governments, international organizations, NGOs, charities, and peace advocates everywhere to expedite the support of relief and rescue efforts, irrespective of any political consideration.”

In the same vein, Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, said that the “Emergency response must not be politicised”.

Meanwhile, the first aid convoy is expected today in Syria’s north-western province of Idlib, via Turkey, an area controlled by rebels and jihadis.

For its part, the Syrian government has made a formal request for aid to the European Union.

The EU Commission responded immediately by "encouraging" its member states to provide medicines, food and basic necessities, while ensuring that the materials are distributed to the population and “not diverted" by the government and affiliated entities.

In Azer, Trappist nuns have also spoken out. In a letter signed by Sister Marta, they attack the sanctions which are like salt on the wounds of the victims of the earthquake.

“That’s enough with empty words,” the letter reads. “Now is the time to lift sanctions on Syria”.

For the Sisters, “the tragedy and suffering of so many dead who are still under the rubble ought to serve to help and provide hope to the living.”

“If the general conditions of the people had not been so desperate, today there would be more tools to dig the rubble, and save more people.

“Hospitals and pharmacies would be better equipped with all they needed. More homes would be able to take in refugees, [...] more people would be working and have the means to help their brothers and sisters.”

The earthquake is "an immense tragedy” but "even in the areas not too affected there are many people in need, dying of hunger, today as yesterday, because hunger, the inability to cope with diseases due to the cost of medicines, and everything else was there even before 6 February.”

The earthquake opened eyes "to the Syrian tragedy, which no one had been talking about for a long time,” but "there was already an earthquake, quieter but no less devastating, which for years had shaken the life and future of these people.”

"The living need tangible and concrete hope that life can be rebuilt ... Raise your voice so that sanctions are lifted immediately.”

• syria
• earthquake
• civil war
• sanctions
• embargo
• trappiest nuns
• eastern churches
• patriarchs