SALT LAKE CITY — University of Utah Professor Amos Guoira spoke Thursday on Inside Sources about the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in a region near Syria and Turkey. Guoira visited with KSL NewsRadio’s Boyd Matheson.

Guoira explained why rescue efforts for Turkey and Syria are challenging during this time. There are many contributing factors making the earthquakes so devastating to these countries. 

Guoira explains that Turkey and Syria don’t have the infrastructure to handle that magnitude of an earthquake, which has led to a high number of deaths. Over 20,000 have been found dead so far.  It has also caused major destruction to the cities and homes of the people there.

Ultimately, the war in Russia and Ukraine has and will disrupt the aid to these countries. 

“Everybody has to score points, right. That’s the essence of geopolitics,” Guoria said.

Help or not help Syria and Turkey

Different countries worry about who will think what if they help or don’t help. Guoria says that countries are concerned about their 10 minutes of fame. However, when the glamour has faded so does the help.

“The world is distracted because of Ukraine and Russia, and the losers of that are the poor people in the rubble,” Guoria said.

Guoria goes on to say that this will only be front page news for a short time, and then attention will drift back to the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the people in Turkey and Syria are still needing aid and help.

While there have been many efforts sent to help those in Turkey and Syria, Guoria doesn’t think it is long lasting.

“I genuinely don’t know where the aid will come from, and how sustainable the aid is, when we will quickly turn our attention back to Russia and Ukraine,” Guoria said. 

Inside Sources with Boyd Matheson can be heard weekdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app. 

Related Reading: 

• Earthquake safety in the winter looks different, expert says
• US on standby to aid Turkey and Syria after earthquake