Earthquake: Paypal partly restricts donations for Syria – this is the reason

politics

Thousands of dead, thousands upon thousands injured – and the danger has not yet been averted. The earthquake that hit the Turkey-Syria border region on Monday has unforeseen consequences. There have already been several aftershocks – and claimed even more victims. More could follow.

Western aid organizations immediately set out to help the Turkish and Syrian authorities recover People support or deliver humanitarian aid.

However, there is a problem that PayPal donors may have already noticed.

Anyone who has often donated to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is probably familiar with the procedure: To make donations quicker and easier, NGOs often use Paypal links to which private individuals can easily send small and large sums. Of course, those donors also want to state what they are donating to.

If you want to donate money via Paypal, it is best not to write “Syria” in the subject line. Image: dpa / Sebastian Kahnert

After the earthquake disaster, however, one should be a little more careful. Because: If the word “Syria” is in the subject of the donation, the money stays put. The transaction must be checked, it is then said by the financial service provider. This can take up to 72 hours.

Watson made a donation to STELP, one of the relief organizations, for the test. Once with the subject “Disaster Aid Turkey” and once “Earthquake Turkey and Syria” as intended use in the line. The watson editorial team made both donations on the morning of February 7 at 7:45 a.m. The one with the term “Syria” in the line was still not transferred at 4 p.m.

Screenshot of the self-made donation via Paypal.Image: Paypal/Screenshot

The reason for this is probably that both the USA as well as the EU the battered Syria subject to economic sanctions.

However, this restriction does not appear to apply to all transfers. In a further test on a well-known aid organization, there were no problems – as it seems.

Paypal has left a request from watson unanswered.

The Syrian Red Crescent, meanwhile, has called on the West to lift these sanctions and provide additional aid following the earthquake disaster. “The time has come after this earthquake,” said the head of the organization, Chaled Habubati, on Tuesday at a press conference broadcast by Syrian state television. He appealed to “all EU countries to lift the economic sanctions against Syria”.

Help also in Syria: Criticism of the federal government is loud

He also called on the US development agency USAID to “provide assistance to the Syrian people”.

Human rights activists, such as the influencer and journalist Helen Fares, also draw attention to this fact and criticize a selective willingness to help.

After more than a decade of war in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad’s government continues to be ostracized by the West. This complicates international relief efforts after Monday’s devastating earthquakein which, according to Syrian state media and rescue services, more than 1,600 people died in Syria alone Life came and more than 3600 others were injured.

The Red Crescent mobilized 3,000 volunteers for the mission, Habubati said. The organization operates in the government-controlled areas. Habubati’s call is similar to that of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.

Sanctions paralyze Syria’s economy

He said Monday that Damascus is ready to facilitate all procedures “necessary for international organizations to provide humanitarian assistance.”

Years of conflict and economic sanctions have Syria’s Business paralyzed and weakened its ability to react to disasters. The EU, among others, has imposed extensive sanctions on the Assad government since the start of the Syrian conflict. Despite numerous sanctions, international aid is reaching government-controlled areas through United Nations agencies. Many of the UN agencies have branches in Damascus.

(With material from AFP)