ERBIL (Kurdistan Chronicle) — Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday welcomed Kurdish rescuers, medics, and relief teams on their return from the earthquake-affected areas of Turkey and Syria.
“Kurds around the world are proud of you,” PM Barzani told the teams during the reception on a main road leading to Erbil, stressing that their reaction to the humanitarian crisis in the neighboring countries has shown the world that Kurds are a peace-loving nation.
“I am here to welcome you all back and extend my heartfelt appreciation,” he added.
Following the devastating earthquakes which hit southern Turkey and northwest of Syria on February 6, Kurdistan immediately joined the international mobilization to send assistance.
While hundreds of personnel were rescuing people from under the rubbles, people back home in Kurdistan organized donation campaigns to collect cash and other relief materials for those affected.
“What you did goes beyond search and rescue efforts; you served as our ambassadors, carrying the goodwill of the Kurdish people,” PM Barzani wrote on Twitter after the arrival of the Kurdish first responders.
“Whenever we can, and whatever our means, we help. That’s the Kurdish story,” he added.
Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF), which joined the teams from Kurdistan Region’s ministries of Interior and Health to provide assistance in Turkey and Syria, has so far provided 2,537 tents, 30,980 blankets, 9,000 heaters, 6,108 pieces of clothing, 8,049 infants food packages, and hundreds of tons of dried food and medicine to the affected people.
The leading Kurdish charity organization is also running public donation campaigns around the world to collect additional assistance.
What you did goes beyond search and rescue efforts; you served as our ambassadors, carrying the goodwill of the Kurdish people.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) February 19, 2023
Whenever we can, and whatever our means, we help.
That’s the Kurdish story.
Thank you and welcome home -mb. pic.twitter.com/NVzLfaLxRB
