The revelation that Turkey’s Red Crescent (Kızılay) organization sold tents to charitable non-governmental Ahbap in the days following the February 6 earthquake has resulted in widespread outrage throughout Turkey as the country experiences a shortage of tents in areas affected by the disaster. Red Crescent President Kerem Kınık later confirmed that 2500 tents had been sold to the charitable organization.
Murat Ağırel, journalist for Cumhuriyet newspaper, wrote the following about the sale:
“There were 40,000 tents in stock. Another 14,000 also turned up. They [Kızılay] gave a total of 54,000 tents to AFAD [Turkey’s disaster response agency]. However, 46 million Turkish Liras in tent sales were made to AHBAP directly from the production facility. All organizations that appeared to be either associations or foundations were made to use up their stock [of tents]. These are all aid organizations which make ends meet through support from the Red Crescent, AFAD, and by raising money from the public. Is there any agency capable of oversight? I don’t think so. There is still a shortage of tents in the earthquake area and this is the situation.”
Ahbap responds
Another post on Twitter came from Ahbap, confirming the purchase of tents from Kızılay:
“Our association has contacted companies producing tents all over the country. However, because the earthquake affected 10 provinces and resulted in a huge amount of destruction, the existing stocks of all tent manufacturers in our country could not meet the demand. Our friends had a meeting with Kızılay Tent and Textile, which is a subsidiary of Kızılay. We immediately signed a contract for the purchase of tents, which we learned contained 2050 tents, and the next morning we sent this number or tents to the earthquake zone.”
O tarihte iletişime geçtiğimiz firmalarda hemen o sabah deprem bölgesine gönderebileceğimiz çadırlar yoktu. En erken 1 hafta içinde yetiştireceklerdi.
— Ahbap (@ahbap) February 26, 2023
Statement from Kızılay
Following the confirmation of the tent purchase by Ahbap on Twitter, Kızılay President Kerem Kınık also released a statement defending the organization’s actions, saying the tents had been sold to Ahbap at wholesale prices and shipped to affected areas free of charge using Kızılay vehicles. Kınık described the transaction between Kızılay and Ahbap as ‘moral, rational, and legal’.
A further disclosure indicating that the wholesale price of each of the tents had exceeded 20,000 Liras led to further ridicule on Sunday afternoon.
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3-Satışlardan elde ettiği gelirleri Kızılay’a aktarır, Kızılay da Afetler için gerekli olan Çadır ve sair insani yardım malzemelerini ürettirerek depolar ve ihtiyaç anında vatandaşlarımıza ücretsiz dağıtır.
— Kerem Kınık (@drkerem) February 26, 2023
Police stop TIP protest
A demonstration planned for Istanbul’s Kadıköy district by the Workers Party of Turkey (TİP) intended to protest Kızılay’s tent sale was stopped by local police and numerous protesters, including party officials and earthquake survivors, were taken into custody.
Opposition parties scold Kızılay
Strong statements condemning the tent sale were also issued by several opposition parties on Sunday (February 26). Republican People’s Party (CHP) Spokesperson Faik Öztrak released a statement accusing Kızılay of ‘earthquake opportunism’. Left-wing People’s Democratic Party (HDP) also condemned the tent sale, saying “The ruling government and Kızılay, which is under its supervision, has left our people buried under rubble and condemned them to death, cold, and hunger. During a period like this, they are so shameless as to defend the sale of tents. The statement released by Kızılay on the topic is a testament to corruption. You will be held accountable for this!.”
Deprem yaralarını saran Kızılay'dan,
— Faik Öztrak (@faikoztrak) February 26, 2023
Deprem fırsatçılığı yapan Kızılay'a…
Çürütmedik değer ve kurum bırakmadılar.
Similar statements were issued by İYİ and Future Parties. İYİ Party Chairwoman Meral Akşener wrote in a Twitter post “Shame on you for abandoning people for money,” while Gelecek Party chairman Ahmet Davutoğlu scolded Kızılay by saying “Kızılay cannot make tent sales while there are people waiting helplessly on the streets; Those tents should have been sent to the people of the area immediately and free of charge.”
"İyiliğin gücüyle insanın ve toplumun onurunu korumak, dirençliliğini arttırmak ve ızdırabını dindirmek için çalışmak" anlayışıyla kurulan Türk Kızılay'ını;
— Meral Akşener (@meral_aksener) February 26, 2023
Paranın gücüyle insanını yalnız bırakan, binbir dümen kurup içini boşaltan bir anlayışa mahkûm ettiniz.
Yazıklar olsun!
