Humanitarian groups meet in Kurdistan to discuss relief campaigns for Afrin

Forced from their homes, the displaced from Afrin are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Barchav Organization, a non-governmental organization, held a meeting on Sunday with several humanitarian groups in Erbil to discuss the situation in Syrian Kurdistan’s (Rojava) Afrin region.

According to a statement on their Facebook page, the NGO held a “consultative meeting” in the Kurdistan Region’s capital with the participation of 10 aid groups.

The meeting, which included some Syrian civil society organizations operating in Kurdistan, focused on the situation of the displaced people in Afrin and the steps required to communicate their plight with the United Nations and the Red Cross.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced from the Kurdish-held enclave in Rojava after Turkish forces took control of the area last week. Forced from their homes, the displaced are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

A meeting organized by the Barchav Organization in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, March 25, 2018. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
A meeting organized by the Barchav Organization in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, March 25, 2018. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

The head of Barchav Organization, Farooq Haji Mustafa, told Kurdistan 24 the meeting addressed the situation of civilians in Afrin, including ways to prevent a similar disaster in the future.

“We want to bring the suffering of the people of Afrin to the international stage. We want the United Nations and other international groups to react and help these people,” he said.

Mustafa called on the humanitarian organizations to prepare campaigns to deliver aid to those in Afrin and other Syrian regions.

He said the participants also stressed the need to focus their efforts on ensuring the displaced return to their homes as well as the launch of projects to help them reintegrate.

The head of Barchav Organization, Farooq Haji Mustafa, speaks with Kurdistan 24. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
The head of Barchav Organization, Farooq Haji Mustafa, speaks with Kurdistan 24. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

The Barchav Organization was founded in the city of Kobani in 2013 before relocating to Erbil in the Kurdistan Region where it has engaged in humanitarian activities.

The organization’s work is focused on carrying out development projects in areas of conflict, primarily Kurdish regions in Syria, as is the case with Afrin.