Earthquakes, aid and politics

Send us Fan MailAfter two devastating earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, Inside Geneva podcast host Imogen Foulkes looks at the challenges aid agencies face when compassion and humanity run up against the obstacles of geopolitics.In Syria, the disaster comes on top of 12 years of conflict.“My teams ask me, the people ask me, our partners ask me: why is this happening to us? They just came out of a bitter conflict that’s been taking place for years,” says Wael Darwish of Caritas Switzerland in Syria.The conflict in Syria is ongoing. How will aid get to everyone in need?“As a humanitarian of course, frustration is part of my work. We always face these situations where people’s needs are not necessarily the priority,” says Miren Bengoa of Swiss Solidarity.Humanitarian agencies are rushing to help. Will they be able to do their job?“We stick to being independent, impartial, neutral, but there is a lot of politics involved, unfortunately,” says James McDowell of Medair.Get in touch!Email us at [email protected]: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang