Kurdish Council Honors 2023 Earthquake Victims, Hails Barzani Charity Foundation's Pivotal Aid Role
KNCS marked the third anniversary of the 2023 earthquake, praising BCF’s first aid convoy to Afrin and its ongoing humanitarian work, while highlighting Kurdish leadership’s diplomatic efforts to amplify the voices of Syria’s Kurds.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Three years after the earth split beneath Afrin and its surrounding districts, the echoes of loss were met with a renewed remembrance of solidarity, as the Afrin Local Council of the Kurdish National Council in Syria (KNCS) reflected on a moment it described as a turning point in the darkest days of the disaster.
In a statement issued on the third anniversary of the devastating earthquake of Feb. 6, 2023, the Afrin Local Council of KNCS shed light on the role of the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF), saying it came to the aid of the people of Afrin when conditions were at their most difficult.
The Local Council said three years have passed since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye and Syria, leaving tens of thousands of victims. It added that the Afrin region in Western Kurdistan (Northern Syria) and particularly the city of Jindires, where eighty percent of buildings were destroyed, bore the largest share of the devastation and pain.
KNCS said that on Feb. 10, 2023, under the direct instructions of President Masoud Barzani and the Kurdistan Regional Government, the first humanitarian convoy of the Barzani Charity Foundation crossed through the Bab al-Salameh crossing into Afrin. The statement noted that BCF was not only the first organization to arrive locally, but also the first charitable organization at the international level to reach the people of the region.
The statement described the reception given by the people of Afrin to BCF teams:
“When the humanitarian convoy was welcomed at the gates of Afrin, thousands of women and men came out carrying the Kurdistan flag, with tears of joy. It was like a national celebration, and its significance was no less than the Peshmerga’s passage to Kobani. This stance greatly raised the morale of our people in Afrin, who were under oppression and the weight of catastrophe.”
KNCS said that the work of the Barzani Charity Foundation did not remain limited to Afrin and Jindires, but continues to reach Aleppo, Damascus, Kobani, and the Jazira region. It added that in the future, and with suitable conditions.
The statement also highlighted the diplomatic efforts of Kurdish leadership, saying that visits by President Masoud Barzani to international decision-making centers, the participation of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in international summits in Davos and Dubai, and the diplomacy of Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani helped carry the voice of the Kurdish people in Syria to the world.
KNCS stressed that these humanitarian and diplomatic efforts form the foundation for a political solution that would formally enshrine the rights of the Kurdish people in Syria’s new constitution.
The statement concluded by offering condolences to the families of the earthquake victims and extending its greetings and appreciation to the Barzani Charity Foundation and the leadership of Kurdistan.