U-turn from head of Red Crescent about sale of tents during earthquake

Click to read the article in Turkish

It was revealed that on the third day of the February 6 earthquakes, the Red Crescent of Türkiye sold 2 thousand 50 tents to AHBAB,  a very popular charity organization led by a singer. 

The sale first reported in a newspaper and then confirmed by both parties was made for 46 million lira (2.4 million US dollars) while tents should be distributed for free by AFAD, the Disaster and Emergency Presidency after disasters. 

"I did not know"

Kerem Kınık, the head of the Red Crescent, who confirmed and also stood behind the sale one day before saying it is "moral, rational and legal," yesterday (February 27) claimed that the sale was made without his knowledge and criticized it.

Kınık said, "I did not know that 2 thousand 50 tents were sold to Ahbab. When I learned about it I criticized the colleagues," in a TV program in the evening.

The head of the Red Crescent was invited to the program on CNN Turk after he was criticized by many in the country. He argued that the officers of the subsidiary took initiative and sold the tents produced for a client abroad, since tents were needed urgently. The tents were sold at a price to cover their cost, Kınık told the presenter. He also said that he would have instructed otherwise if he had been asked. 

Before: "Sale of tents is moral, rational and legal"

Kınık had posted a flood on his Twitter account about the sale of tents to AHBAB the day before.

KAMUOYUNA AÇIKLAMA ❗️@KizilayCadir Türkiye Kızılay Cemiyetinin bir iştirakidir ve 12 ay kesintisiz üretim yapan dünyanın sayılı afet çadırı üreticilerinden biridir
-Öncelikle Kızılayın TAMP çerçevesinde belirlenen asgari çadır stok seviyesini garanti ederhttps://t.co/VX5M3R1tWK

— Kerem Kınık (@drkerem) February 26, 2023

Here he had said, "The Red Crescent Tent is a subsidiary of the Red Crescent and one of the few disaster tent producers in the world with 12 months of uninterrupted production.

"The company first of all guarantees the minimum tent stock level determined in the scope of the disaster recovery program of Türkiye.
Besides, the company produces the tents that AFAD orders on the requested delivery dates.

"The company also produces tents to meet the request of the Ministry of Health or Ministry of Defense or the United Nations.

"The company transfers the income from the sales to the Red Crescent. The Red Crescent has tents and other materials produced for the disasters and distributes them for free when needed.

"AHBAB association has purchased 2050 tents that the Red Crescent had produced for an institution abroad from the Red Crescent Tent company, sold at its cost, and delivered them to the destination instructed by AFAD and made them available for the earthquake victims.

"The Red Crescent Tent company allocated the money received from the association to purchasing raw materials for tent production, planned for making available to the earthquake victims free of charge.

"The Red Crescent Tent company continues to provide accommodation support to AFAD by producing 1000 tents a day and also by imports and sub-production in Türkiye. The cooperation of AHBAB and the Red Crescent is moral, rational and legal."

February 6 earthquakes

On February 6, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 struck the southern city of Maraş.

The quakes affected 11 cities in Türkiye's south and southeast, as well as Syria's northern parts.

The official death toll from the quakes stands at over 44,000 and is expected to increase further, as over 160,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, according to government figures.

Nearly two million people have been displaced due to the earthquakes. (AEK/PE)