Pazarcik stands still. By February 6, 70,000 people had lived in the district town. The quake breathed life out, turned the place into a ghost town. Of many houses only rubble remains, many lean dangerously to the side. The shops are closed. "The extent of the earthquake catastrophe can hardly be put into words," says Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as she walks along the main street.

Rainer Hermann

Editor in politics.

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Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faser adds that it is now a matter of helping and showing solidarity. And so Baerbock announces in the destroyed main street of Pazarcik that Germany will increase its earthquake aid for Turkey and Syria by 50 million euros to a total of 108 million euros. Of this, 41 million are in Turkey and 67 million in Syria.

The epicenter of the quake with a magnitude of 7.7 was in the province of Kahramanmaras near Pazarcik. The death toll can only be guessed, say the survivors in the tent cities that have been erected around the largely destroyed city. There are 13, says the governor of Kirikkale province, who is delegated for the administration of Papacrique. In the conversations, the people have reported on their trauma, says Baerbock, and Faeser adds that in the tent city you tear your heart to hear what people have lost.

Many want to get out of the earthquake area

In the largest tent city there are 500 tents, heated with wood stoves, which leads to health problems. But there are too few tents, complain the governor and the people. Some continue to sleep in their cars, others found shelter in nearby villages, but come here during the day. For example, to eat something. Now it's about creating permanent living space, says Faeser. Baerbock promises that the aid will continue for a long time, hospitals, schools and other things must be built so that people can find a perspective again. Many want to get away from Pazarcik. After all, 50,000 people from here already live scattered throughout Europe.

In the early afternoon, an A13M transport aircraft of the Bundeswehr loaded with 400 tons of relief supplies landed at the airport of Gaziantep. A little later, the two Federal Ministers Baerbock and Faser stepped side by side from a Bundeswehr aircraft. A hundred tents, 400 camp beds and more than 1000 sleeping bags, from the stocks of THW and financed by the Foreign Office, have already been unloaded and handed over to representatives of the Turkish civil protection and disaster protection AFAD. Following the handover, the two ministers spoke with representatives of German aid organisations active in Turkey and Syria. They had come to get an idea of how Germany could continue to help in the best possible way and do its part to give people a perspective again, said Baerbock.

The two ministers initially withdrew into the interior of the transport plane. There they were informed by representatives of THW, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Malteser International and Welthungerhilfe about the cooperation with the disaster control authority AFAD. The organisations also gave an assessment of the assistance needed in Turkey and Syria. Bundeswehr aircraft have already carried out more than 20 flights with aid deliveries to Turkey. Above all, they brought tents, blankets, heaters and sleeping bags. The aid deliveries are financed with a total value of 8 billion euros from the Federal Foreign Office's international disaster relief agency and donations from the federal states.

96 visa applications issued for Germany

It was already dark when Baerbock and Faeser visited the first mobile reception centre for visa applications. Almost two weeks ago, it was decided to facilitate the issuance of Schengen visas with a validity of three months for those affected, who have close relatives in Germany. So they could come to rest in Germany, said Baerbock. Those affected by the consequences of the earthquake who have relatives in Germany should be able to apply for a visa here in a simplified manner. Since Monday, a VW Caravelle is on the road in the region. An external Turkish service provider, iData, receives the documents and forwards them to the embassy in Ankara. Germany already has eight visa acceptance offices in Turkey where Turkish citizens can hand in their documents. 96 such visas have already been issued to those affected by the earthquake who were invited to Germany by first- or second-degree relatives.

It is currently observed that the number of commitments requested is rising sharply, so that more visas are expected to be issued quickly. The declarations must be attached to the application in the original, which no longer seems to be a problem thanks to courier services. The applicant must also have a valid travel document. Since many lost their papers in the earthquake, the Federal Republic issues a travel document for foreigners. However, Turkey insists on a Turkish document when leaving. The Turkish authorities are now issuing it within a week. If all documents are complete, the visa should be issued in five days. Compromises on the security query and the Schengen query would not be made. Should problems arise, they would be resolved quickly, the two ministers assured.