Canada is prioritizing visas for victims of the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria last month, as hundreds of thousands have been made homeless.
More than 3,000 people from Turkey and Syria have entered the country since the Feb. 6 earthquakes, according to data shared by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) with Global News this week.
It’s not clear if all those who came between Feb. 6 and 26 were directly impacted by the earthquakes.
As of Sunday, a total of 2,220 travellers from Turkey and 881 from neighbouring Syria had arrived in Canada, CBSA stats showed.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it is “giving priority to affected individuals for temporary resident, permanent resident and refugee applications.”
“We’re monitoring the situation and will adjust our approach accordingly,” an IRCC spokesperson told Global News in an emailed statement.
As of Feb. 8, there were close to 16,000 applicants — under review or finalized — in Turkey and Syria, IRCC said.
Of these, approximately 1,700 applicants for permanent and temporary residence were within the zone impacted by the earthquakes.
The earthquake in Turkey had “no impact or delay on application processing,” the agency confirmed.
It has been more than three weeks since a pair of massive earthquakes, hours apart, shook Turkey and Syria, killing more than 50,000 people and injuring many more.
Tens of thousands are still missing in the region, according to the United Nations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to rebuild homes within a year but it will be many months before thousands can swap tents or containers and queues for food handouts for permanent housing.
Since the Feb. 6 tragedy, fresh earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks have rocked the region over the past three weeks.
Turkey and Syria were hit by another powerful quake of 6.4 magnitude on Feb. 20, killing at least six people.
Another on Monday of magnitude 5.6 shook southeast Turkey, killing one person and causing further damage.
How to help
Canada has already pledged $50 million in humanitarian aid and matching donations to assist earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.
“After facing one of the most devastating natural disasters to hit the region, it is our duty as a government to ensure that Canada is there to bring much-needed assistance to the people of Türkiye and Syria,” Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement last Friday.
“We will continue to stand with the people of Türkiye and Syria during this difficult time and will provide emergency assistance to help the two countries recover.”
Governments and humanitarian organizations around the world are helping with relief efforts, with rescue teams and emergency aid being sent to the region.
Individual Canadians can help, too, by donating.
The Canadian government has a website dedicated to helping people sleuth out charity scams. The Canada Revenue Agency has a registered charities database that can be used to ensure your donation is going to a real charitable organization.
Here are some reliable organizations that are currently collecting funds to help in Turkey and Syria:
— with files from Global News’ Rachel Gilmore, Reuters and The Associated Press