The Turkish Red Crescent is under fire for selling tents for earthquake victims to a separate charity instead of distributing them itself free of charge.
On the third day after the massive earthquake on February 6, the private aid organization Ahbap bought 2,050 insulated winter tents at a unit price of about 19,000 Turkish lira ($1,050), Ahbap chairman Haluk Levent told Fox TV on Monday, confirming earlier reports.
Levent, who is a well-known rock musician in Turkey, said his charity had had no choice but to buy the tents for people in need.
The head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Kerem Kinik, confirmed on Sunday evening that 2,050 tents had been delivered to Ahbap.
He defended himself on Twitter and said that no profit had been made from the sale.
The action nevertheless caused a stir.
The leader of the opposition party Iyi, Meral Aksener, wrote on Twitter to the Red Crescent: “Shame on you!”
The controversy comes as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government faces criticism from the opposition for its emergency management and aid provision in the days after the quake.
According to people in the area, there is still a lack of tents in the badly hit southern province of Hatay three weeks after the quake.
More than 50,000 people were killed in Turkey and Syria. According to the Turkish government, more than 173,000 buildings were destroyed in 11 provinces of the country.
Almost 2 million people were left homeless.
Source: Ghana News Agency