Critics have blamed poor construction safety on corruption and government policies. Meanwhile, in war-torn Syria, frustration and anger are mounting amongst bereaved families who say their loved ones were left to die under the rubble, while aid trickles in slowly. What role are politics playing in emergency response, humanitarian and recovery efforts? With president Erdoğan's future on the line, what will this natural disaster, turned humanitarian crisis, mean for Türkiye? How will Bashar al-Assad's regime be affected?

The 7.8- and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria, on the 6th February, were the region’s strongest in nearly a century. As rescuers' and families' hopes to find more survivors dwindle, eyes are now on what's next. Some — like UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths — fear that the death toll could reach at least 50,000. Others warn that dire conditions in makeshift camps housing the dispossessed and displaced could lead to many more deaths. 

The earthquakes have hit Türkiye at a crucial point in time in the country's political trajectory, as it approaches its next presidential election on 14th May. Critics have blamed poor construction safety on corruption and government policies. Meanwhile, in war-torn Syria, frustration and anger are mounting amongst bereaved families who say their loved ones were left to die under the rubble. Aid has trickled in slowly. 

What role are national and international politics playing in emergency response, humanitarian and recovery efforts? With president Erdoğan's future on the line, what will this natural disaster, turned humanitarian crisis, mean for Türkiye? How will Bashar al-Assad's regime be affected?

To answer these questions and more, Sciences Po Monde Arabe (SPMA) will host a panel of experts:

• Aghiad Ghanem, PhD candidate at Ceri-Sciences Po focusing on Alawites in Syria, Turkey, and Lebanon, and their modes of internationalization in the context of the Syrian conflict
• Nevzat Celik, researcher currently affiliated with the Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités (GSRL-UMR 8582-  EPHE-CNRS-PSL) institute in Paris. He is also the founder and director of the Paris Advanced Research Center
• Arya Jemo, independent humanitarian and Kurdish activist involved in France, Greece and Southern Kurdistan (Irak)

The conference will take place in English, on Thursday 23rd February, 5-6:30pm, at 9 rue de la chaise, room 933 (building C).