On Saturday, members of Somalia’s parliament voted unanimously to give 20% of their February salary to victims of Turkey’s twin earthquakes.
The parliament session was presided over by the second Deputy Speaker, Abdullahi Omar Abshir, and was attended by 150 parliamentarians in Mogadishu’s heavily fortified Villa Hargaisa.
Abshir advocated voting after meeting with Speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur, who also agreed to assist in the ongoing aid appeal for earthquake victims in Türkiye.
“The executive branch of government, businessmen, and other government entities have already participated in the campaign,” he told legislators.
Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre had previously stated that the government will give $1 million to the relief effort and that a committee would be formed to collect donations from other organizations.
On behalf of the business community, Somali Bankers Association Chairman Ahmed Shirwa announced a $3 million donation on Friday.
In addition, two private Somali institutions have donated 4 million Turkish lira (about $212,430) to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).
According to government calculations, the two powerful earthquakes that shook southern Turkey killed more than 39,000 people.
The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes impacted 10 more provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa. The terrible earthquakes have touched almost 13 million people.