A delegation from the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Dêrik town twinning partnership has traveled to North and East Syria. The aim of the trip is to hand over humanitarian aid and support ongoing projects as part of the partnership with the town of Dêrik (al-Malikiya) that has been in place since 2017. This is the only official partnership between a German district and a city in the autonomous region of northeastern Syria to date.

“A strong partnership is needed”

The focus of the trip, which is scheduled to last until June 9, is on promoting education and healthcare. A school damaged in the 2023 earthquake is being renovated with funds from the children's aid organization Global Care. Two further school projects are in the planning stage. In addition, a solar-powered well is to be built for internally displaced persons. According to the town twinning association, a similar project already supplies around 5,000 people with drinking water.

A visit to the mobile clinic in the Dêrik area, which is run jointly by the town twinning association and WJAS (Free Women’s Foundation in Syria), is also planned. Medical care in the region is considered severely limited, partly due to repeated Turkish air strikes on critical infrastructure.

“A strong partnership from Germany is needed to support progressive ideas of the autonomous administration, such as the equal and multi-ethnic administrative model in northeast Syria,” said board member Janosch Tries before departure. The region remains a place of refuge for many internally displaced persons from across the country.

16.7 million people in Syria need help

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the humanitarian situation in Syria is dire. Around 16.7 million people are in need of aid – more than ever since the war began in 2011. The town twinning association expressed particular concern about the massacres of Alawites in the west and the escalating fighting in Druze-dominated areas in southern Syria. “Our goal is to promote social cohesion and actively support the reconstruction of a democratic Syria,” Tries stated.

Delegation is part of a broader initiative

The three-member delegation is part of a broader initiative to promote German-Syrian hospital partnerships. In cooperation with the Association of Kurdish Doctors in Germany, the aim is to improve dialysis care at the hospital in Dêrik and identify new medical needs. Further visits to hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and the university in Qamishli are planned.