Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Students Are Taking Action

Following the devastating earthquake that struck Southeast Turkey and Northern Syria on 6 February 2023, Sciences Po would like to express its solidarity with the stricken communities, as well as with all our students from the region. Students who require assistance are invited to contact support.seisme@sciencespo.fr.

Sciences Po's student body rallied in the very first hours after the tragedy occurred to transform solidarity into concrete action.

An institutional candle-light ceremony will take place on Thursday 23 February to pay tribute to the victims of these earthquakes. Organised in connection with a student collective, this ceremony will be held at 7pm on the Paris campus, in the garden of 27 rue Saint Guillaume and on each of the regional campuses.

Two donation drives have been set up so far by the students, and you will find below the information to contribute:

• By students on the Paris campus:

A collection is currently taking place in the hall at 27 rue Saint Guillaume. The donations collected will be distributed to the associations Ahbap (a humanitarian and apolitical non-governmental association) and The White Helmets (a volunteer organization working in Syria). Click here to donate or help volunteer.

• By the Sciences Po Refugee Help :

This organisation is holding an earthquake relief fund for the Cantine Syrienne.

• By a student association on the Menton campus:

Students from the Thracian and Anatolian Student Association (TASA) at the Sciences Po campus in Menton organised a food and fundraiser open to the public in record time from 7 February 7 to 10 February on the Sciences Po campus in Menton. This collection is extended online on their Instagram account @tasamenton.

The food and other products collected were sent to the municipality of Istanbul, which will redistribute them in the most affected areas. The monetary funds will be donated to Ahbap. The cash donations will be given to UNICEF for Syria. TASA has opened a dialogue with students from other campuses, especially the one in Le Havre, in order to cooperate in their actions.

TASA is an association of Sciences Po students whose initial goal is to promote the Thracian and Anatolian cultures. Some students are directly concerned by this tragedy since there are about twenty Turkish and Syrian students currently on the Menton campus.

In 2020, the students of the Sciences Po campus in Menton had already mobilised following the explosion of the Port of Beirut in Lebanon. This initiative, in addition to sending medicine and clothing, had allowed to participate in the rehabilitation of the hospital in the Quarantina district of Beirut and the installation of solar panels.

You can also contribute to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' appeals for donations.

Sciences Po urges all its communities to participate in these solidarity collections. Moreover, if you wish to share your proposals for assistance or mobilisation, the Student Life Department is ready to assist you in your efforts.