China perceived as most valued country in providing disaster relief to Turkey: Survey

Athens [Greece], March 15 : China is perceived as the most valued country in providing disaster relief to Turkey following the devastating series of earthquakes in the country resulting in the death of more than 48,000 people, according to a poll by Premise, a research technology and data company, reported Greek City Times.

It is imperative to note that China donated just USD 5.8 million to assist Turkey, while the US pledged USD 185 million and the UK USD 30 million, reported Greek City Times.

The managing director of Premise, Arthur Soames, explained that "starkest finding in data is that China is perceived as being far and away the most valued country in providing disaster relief: 72 per cent of our nationally representative sample had a positive or very positive impression of China's contribution, while the US, despite providing more than 20 times as much cash, was perceived in a similar light by only 59 per cent of the population."

Premise asked 1,000 Turks from across the country for their views on the international relief effort, the contributions from various aid agencies and also their views on the causes of the catastrophic damage.

"Having invested historically in its relationship with Turkey, China has found it simple to project its influence as a high-profile presence in disaster relief from the start. This has clearly struck a powerful chord with people. The US, on the other hand, has had to pay a vastly higher premium in return for credit from the Turkish people," said Soames.

It is evident that West is paying a heavy premium for less recognition of its far greater contribution to the relief effort.

"West has much to learn from its less generous, yet more strategically-minded competitors," said Soames.

Meanwhile, Qatar is the most surprising outlier to have secured a powerful, positive impression amongst Turks: 26 per cent believed that Qatar has provided the greatest support to the relief effort, the highest figure for any country.

A lot of this must have been due to Qatar's decision to donate 10,000 housing units to the affected area that were left over from last year's World Cup. The donation received widespread coverage in the Turkish media and clearly had a powerful impact - proof that Qatar continues to receive international and diplomatic benefits from hosting the World Cup, added the survey.

Behind these two comes the EU. It came in third with 16 per cent of people saying that it had provided the most support, while 11 per cent thought it would be most capable of assisting in the rebuild.

By contrast, the relief effort from the US and the UK does not appear to have been particularly recognised. Only 8 per cent of the poll felt that the US had done the most. The UK falls much further behind, barely registering 1 per cent, added the survey.

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