Humanitarian

BCF assists more than 140,000 quake-stricken families in Turkey, Syria

At least 100 heavy excavation vehicles were also deployed to assist the search and rescue teams in the southeastern affected provinces of Turkey.

Kurdistan 24 2023/02/20 15:32

The BCF aid workers are distributing blankets in Turkey's quake-affected areas. (Photo: BCF/Facebook)

Kurdistan BCF Turkey Syria Eathquake

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – More than 140,000 families in quake-affected areas in Turkey and Syria received aid from the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF), according to an official statement from the organization.

Thousands of families from the provinces of Turkey’s southeast (Bakur) and northern Syria (Rojava) have received donations, including instant food, heating stoves, medical supplies, clothes, tents, and baby formula, per the report published by the group.

Following the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked both Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani dispatched medical and rescue teams to both countries, representing the first emergency response teams to reach the impacted area.

At least 100 heavy excavation vehicles were also deployed to assist the search and rescue teams in the southeastern affected provinces of Turkey by the group.

The BCF was the first international aid group to deliver the necessary donations to Syria’s Jinderis town in Afrin, one of the hardest hit places by the deadly earthquake.

Having been plagued by over a decade of civil war, Syria’s emergency response has been sluggish, leaving thousands trapped under collapsed buildings.

In addition to delivering aid, the BCF has now opened an office in the predominantly-Kurdish area to further relief efforts.

Speaking of the dire situation, the head of BCF, Musa Ahmad, asked for continued donations from the public.

“We need everything there,” Ahmad told Kurdistan 24 on Monday, recalling tragic stories from the affected areas.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has recently announced a public campaign to raise money and other donations for victims of the quake.

After spending more than two weeks helping victims, the majority of the Kurdish rescue and medical teams arrived back in Erbil, where Prime Minister Masrour Barzani welcomed them home.

“What you did goes beyond search and rescue efforts; you served as our ambassadors, carrying the goodwill of the Kurdish people,” Barzani told the yellow-vest aid workers.

The death toll rose to more than 45,000 people as a result of the earthquake and its powerful tremors in both countries, marking one of the deadliest natural disasters the world has observed.