Earthquake victims in Kermanshah are left to their fate

Thousands of earthquake victims don’t even have tents in the approaching winter.

40 days have after the 12 November earthquake in the Kermanshah region of eastern Kurdistan (Iran), earthquake victims have received little aid from the Iranian central government. Thousands do not even have tents in the approaching winter.

According to official figures, about 600 people were killed in the earthquake but according to locals, the real number is much higher. Tens of thousands were injured and many victims didn’t get tents despite the harsh winter conditions in the region. As the number of tents provided is so small, often two or three families live in one tent. In particular, the children are affected by diseases. Many women gave birth to their children in the tents.

Nevertheless, the Iranian regime continues to try to confiscate the aid that comes from different cities and countries. Most of the foreign aid was confiscated by the Iranian military because of "security concerns". Only a very small part of aid reaches the earthquake victims.

Felahed Pîşe, a member of the Iranian parliament for the Kermanshah region, complains about the situation in parliament and stated that the government has still not sent any funds from the earthquake-aid budget to the region.

Pīşe said that the government uses every excuse to cut the budget that is for earthquake victims.