Administrator Samantha Power’s Interview on CBS Mornings

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TONY DOKOUPIL: We're going to turn now to an only on CBS Mornings, a conversation with Samantha Power, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. She joins us now with the latest on the American response to this disaster. Administrator Power, thank you for being here. What are the top priorities in the rescue – and to be honest, right, a recovery effort – going on in Türkiye and Syria?

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Well, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, our UN Ambassador is introducing – has introduced a resolution in New York demanding that more border crossings into northern Syria be opened. Syria, of course, has had a much more challenging time. You had the Assad regime in one part of the country, opposition held territory in another part of the country, and the Russian Federation for a very long time has insisted that there be only one border crossing into northern Syria. And we are trying to have that expanded to three border crossings that will mean the kind of industrial scale of flow of humanitarian assistance to Syria, where the rescue effort hasn't had the resources of that in Türkiye.

GAYLE KING: The U.S. has announced that it's going to provide $85 million, Samantha, in humanitarian aid to Syria and to Türkiye. Exactly, how will that money be used?

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Well, it's a combination. First of all, it's very important to stress that it will be spent in both countries, in Türkiye and in Syria. For now, of course, it's funding that will go to the search and rescue effort. The U.S. has a 200 person disaster response team on the ground, including search and rescue with about 170,000 pounds of equipment, doing search and rescue now, and what will be recovery. Recovery means the world as well to families, making sure that loved ones are retrieved and can be properly buried. But as you know, it's freezing there. And now, you have, you know, that tens of thousands of buildings that no longer stand, and people need temporary housing, they need water and hygiene, they're not going to have their livelihoods – access to livelihoods – anytime soon. So, just basic food staples. This is just our initial response. And we really need both private citizens, businesses, and other countries to step up at scale.

TONY DOKOUPIL: Madam Administrator, you used to be the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, and the UN recently called the international response in Syria a failure. Do you agree with that? And why?

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Well, I think we've seen again, the compassion of the world congregate in Türkiye. And many, many people are alive today, and will recover from this earthquake because of the international response. What has been challenging, again, is that the Russian Federation through the Security Council has blocked proper humanitarian response in northern Syria. And that's just another sign of Russian brutality or coldness to human life. But that really is what the UN is talking about, is let us get the response in Syria up to what it is in Türkiye, let us have that humanitarian aid flowing to all the places it is needed. And not just the places, you know, where the sovereign government is able to manage the response as in Türkiye.

TONY DOKOUPIL: Administrator Power, millions of Americans have been moved by the pictures coming out of Türkiye and Syria, and they want to help, how would you recommend they do so?

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Well, first, it's overwhelming for us to see the level of generosity – it's not surprising. We've seen it on Ukraine. We see it whenever a domestic emergency hits. But we have an organization that we've set up that  gives you a listing of really credible, very effective, organizations to give money to, it’s CIDI.org. And one of the things I want to stress is the temptation is to give blankets, and teddy bears, and strollers, and goods, but actually what the organization's on the ground most need is money –  cash – because they can buy locally, that can actually help communities recover, get markets going again. So, if you have the resources to be able to give even a little, cash is best.

TONY DOKOUPIL: Administrator Power, we want to help. Thank you for your time this morning and helping us understand more. 

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Thank you