This teach-in on the earthquake in Syria and Turkey will explore the impact of the devastation in the very different contexts of northwest Syria and southern Turkey. We will be hearing from aid workers, doctors, and activists about the various ways this humanitarian disaster has been intersecting with political and economic factors. We will try to get a better understanding of the way people have been affected and the challenges they are currently facing in the aftermath. We will also explore the humanitarian assistance and solidarity initiatives that have emerged locally, nationally, and transnationally.
Beyond the Numbers: Teach-in on Earthquake in Turkey and Syria
Tayseer Alkarim is a medical doctor, a humanitarian, and human rights activist with extensive experience in emergency response to humanitarian crises, including armed conflict (such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Ukraine) and enforced displacement contexts (Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia). He is a Global Fellow at the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies (CHRHS) at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and a Senior Fellow at New York University's Center on International Cooperation (CIC). Dr. Alkarim now lives in exile in France.
Jomah Alqasem is an MA graduate in international relations in Gaziantep. He is originally from Maret Alnouman near Idlib and has been working in the field of humanitarian aid for the past ten years. Currently, he is an access manager for the local NGO Bahar, which delivers support across northern Syria and Iraq.
Evin Jiyan is a Kurdish human rights and peace activist from Diyarbakir, Turkey, and the daughter of a political prisoner. She has a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science and MA degree in Human Rights Law from Istanbul Bilgi University. Jiyan has worked voluntarily in different NGOs and projects, mainly concerned with reconciliation, peace, and justice. She has started to make documentary films and has a weekly column in the Gazete Karınca.
Fulya Pinar is the Alomran Family Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Center for Middle East Studies at Brown University. Her work as a cultural anthropologist focuses on displacement and solidarity movements in Turkey and the Middle East.