A Crisis Within a Crisis in Syria

<p>When a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Syria and Turkey last week, it killed thousands and created a crisis within a crisis.</p><p>International aid began pouring into Turkey, but northwestern Syria, which was also hard-hit, received only a trickle. It was a bitter blow for Syrians, whose lives had already been uprooted by years of civil war, mass displacement and death.</p><p>Today, we hear from some Syrians and look at why it is so difficult for the world to help them.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/raja-abdulrahim">Raja Abdulrahim</a>, a correspondent in Jerusalem for The New York Times who traveled to northwestern Syria after the earthquake.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Little international aid has come to hard-hit northwestern Syria.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/13/world/middleeast/earthquake-idlib-syria-aid.html"> Residents there said they felt abandoned by the world</a>, and rescue workers said they felt “helpless.”</li><li>Syrians have experienced relentless death and destruction during more than a decade of civil war, but some say<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/12/world/middleeast/syria-turkey-earthquake-refugees.html"> the earthquake was worse than anything else they had endured</a>.</li><li>War, territorial divisions and acrimonious relations between President Bashar al-Assad and many Western nations have complicated aid efforts.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/world/middleeast/earthquake-turkey-syria-toll-aid.html"> Here’s what to know</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>