Help for survivors: Zug wants to donate CHF 75,000

Following the two devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey at the beginning of February, Zug City Council wants to support three relief projects with a one-off financial contribution totalling CHF 75,000.

The people affected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey on 6 February 2023 are now in desperate need of vital aid. The Zug City Council (Stadtrat)  therefore wants to support three aid projects with a one-time financial contribution totalling CHF 75,000, as it writes in a current motion.

On the one hand, the city council is proposing that the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) be granted a one-off contribution of CHF 25,000 for the emergency aid appeal project for the earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria.

The Zug City Council would like to donate the one-off sum of CHF 25,000 to the Swiss Red Cross (SRC), among others, for the emergency appeal earthquake disaster project in Turkey and Syria.         Symbolic image: Mathias Förster / CH Media

A further CHF 25,000 is to be earmarked for the Medair international relief organisation, for the Emergency Relief Appeal project following the earthquake in Syria and Turkey. Caritas Switzerland is also to receive a donation from the City of Zug, of the same as the other aid organisations.

Budget can be increased if necessary
The budget for assistance abroad has been cut by the Zug City Council (GGR) every year since the 2021 budget. According to votes in the GGR, the city council can submit a bill to the GGR if necessary, writes the city council. The city council is therefore now submitting the current bill for emergency aid for the earthquake victims (Hilfe für Überlebende)to the GGR, which will hold its next meeting on 21 March 2023.

The scale of the disaster in south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria is devastating and has claimed countless lives. The survivors are now desperately dependent on food, water, blankets and other urgently needed relief supplies, as the city council further states in its report to the GGR. The harsh weather conditions and cold temperatures are endangering thousands of people who are now without shelter.

The earthquakes mainly affected people who were already living in a situation of great need, and thousands of people are currently sleeping in churches, public buildings, halls and even caves. They are exposed to freezing cold, the city council concluded.