Thousands have arrived in Canada from Turkey, Syria since deadly earthquakes – National
With hundreds of thousands left homeless, Canada is prioritizing visas for victims of the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last month.
More than 3,000 people from Turkey and Syria have entered the country since the February 6 earthquake, according to data shared with Global News this week by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA).
It is not clear whether everyone who visited between February 6th and 26th was directly affected by the quake.
As of Sunday, a total of 2,220 travelers had arrived in Canada from Turkey and 881 from neighboring Syria, CBSA figures showed.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it will “prioritize affected individuals for temporary, permanent and refugee applications.”
“We are monitoring the situation and will adjust our approach accordingly,” an IRCC spokesperson told Global News via email.
According to the IRCC, as of February 8, nearly 16,000 applicants are under review or have been finalized in Turkey and Syria.
Of these, approximately 1,700 applicants for permanent or temporary residence were in areas affected by the earthquake.
The Turkish earthquake “had no impacts or delays on the processing of applications,” officials confirmed.
More than three weeks after two devastating earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria hours apart, more than 50,000 people have been killed and many more injured.
Tens of thousands of people are still missing in the region, according to the United Nations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to rebuild their homes within a year, but thousands of people have replaced their tents and containers for food distribution for permanent housing. It will be many months before we can start lining up.
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New earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks have rocked the region over the past three weeks since the tragedy of February 6th.
Turkey and Syria were hit by another powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.4 on February 20, killing at least six people.
Another 5.6-magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey on Monday, killing one person and causing further damage.
Canada is already promised $50 million With humanitarian aid and matching donations to help earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.
“After facing one of the most devastating natural disasters to hit the region, it is our responsibility as a government to ensure that Canada is there to provide much-needed assistance to the people of Turkiye and Syria. “It is our duty to do so,” Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said in a statement last Friday.
“We will continue to stand by the people of Turkey and Syria during this difficult time and provide emergency assistance to help them rebuild.”
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Governments and humanitarian organizations around the world are supporting relief efforts, with rescue teams and first aid supplies being deployed to the region.
Individual Canadians can also help with donations.
of The Canadian government has a website Dedicated to helping people spot charity scams.Canada Revenue Agency Has a database of registered charities This can be used to ensure donations go to real charities.
Below are some credible organizations that are currently raising money to help Turkey and Syria.
— Rachel Gilmore of Global News, with files from Reuters, AP
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
