The Turkish Red Crescent received, this Sunday (26), a barrage of criticism from the press and the opposition in the country for having sold, instead of donating, campaign tents to survivors of the February 6 earthquake.
The humanitarian organization sold 2,050 tents to the NGO Ahbap to be distributed to survivors of the devastating earthquake, according to the Cumhuriyet newspaper, which revealed the scandal.
Thanks to this transaction, the Red Crescent raised 46 million Turkish lira (R$ 12.7 million), according to the publication.
The tents were distributed in the southeastern regions of Turkey devastated by the earthquake, which left more than 44,000 people dead in the country.
Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kinik confirmed in a Twitter post that Kizilay Cadir, a branch of the organization in charge of manufacturing campaign tents, had sold them to Ahbap at “cost price”.
“The Red Crescent’s cooperation with Ahbap is moral, reasonable and ethical,” he argued.
Despite Kinik’s explanations, the revelations in the press provoked a wave of criticism of the humanitarian organization.
“The largest charitable organization in Turkey, the Red Crescent, sold campaign tents instead of giving them away free of charge to those in need, and it did so at a time when people were pleading for them, three days after the earthquake. It is a scandal,” said Cumhuriyet journalist Murat Agirel, who revealed the facts.
After the earthquake, the Turkish government received numerous criticisms for not having distributed enough tents and humanitarian aid, and also for not having mobilized a satisfactory number of rescue teams in the localities affected by the natural catastrophe.
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