Judayda quarter in the Old City of Aleppo on 19th of February 2023, with severely damaged houses, among them Wakil house on the left, Photo: Fares Badawi

Following the news directly from the community on the ground of the extent of destruction and severity caused by the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday the 6th of February 2023, it is now urgent to help families who live in historic buildings that are showing signs of structural instability and are at risk of collapsing. These houses need to be stabilised as quickly as possible to allow the residents to stay in their homes! Eventually temporary alternatives need to be provided. We can help the people in Aleppo directly!

 The current situation in crisis-torn Aleppo

After 12 years of a devastating war followed by an economic collapse and sanctions imposed on Syria, with Aleppo as one of the most severely affected territories, and on top of it the massive earthquake, the region faces an incomprehensible catastrophe. As living in one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, Aleppo’s people need the assurance that their homes can be stabilized, restored, or rebuilt. An appeal for international intervention is raised from engineers and residents of the city, as the scale of the crisis and lack of resources, is to be equal to the extent of destruction during the last decade of conflict.

Action Plan

In the context of the earthquake response in Aleppo city, a quick assessment in the Old City is launched in order to assure the safety of the inhabitants and passers-by, and to save and rescue the endangered built heritage of Aleppo. The first step to identify the most endangered houses, and to propose an urgent propping in order to stabilize these structures has been ​made. After several site inspections, the committee assigned for the Old City of Aleppo reports severe damages in the neighborhoods of Jallum, Aqaba, and Judayda. In the latter Wakil house (home of the famous Aleppo Room in the Museum for Islamic Art/Berlin) is located, which has been immensely damaged. Around 600 residential plots are categorized as partially or fully damaged and in need of urgent consolidation and repair. These people need urgent help to stabilize and restore their homes.

Help on the ground from Berlin

A Syrian colleague of the Syrian Heritage Archive Project (SHAP), which our association “Friends of the Museum for Islamic Art e.V.” has been supporting for the past 10 years now, is travelling to Aleppo in the next weeks to report on the situation and assist in immediate help possible through  direct contacts established already in Aleppo over the course of the project.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Your help is deeply needed. We can save people’s homes, and dignity, if we act quickly enough. Your donation will reach directly the tailored help needed for the most endangered historical houses.  Construction workers, with the supervision of the responsible consulting structural engineer, will be commissioned to actively support the families of the most severely affected houses in consolidation works. 

Emergency aid is urgently needed in response to this humanitarian crisis! We will inform you about the activities and measures that will take place on the ground.

Donation account

Freunde des Museums für Islamische Kunst im Pergamonmuseum e.V.
IBAN: DE74100400000125849000
BIC: COBADEFFXXX
Commerzbank AG Berlin
Intended purpose: Aid Aleppo