By: Hana Saada
Algeria – Algerian parliamentarians have decided to donate part of their monthly salaries to support victims of the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked both countries, causing countless victims and wreaking terrible infrastructural damage.
Faced with this suffering, Algerian MPs have decided to pay part of their monthly salaries to the victims of the earthquake. For his part, President of the Republic, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Minister of the National Defense Abdelmadjid Tebboune, ordered the donation of USD30 million to Turkey and USD15 million to Syria.
A second bunch of the humanitarian aid, consisting of 70-plus tons of infant formula diapers, medicines, first aid, mattresses, clothes, as well as widely-consumed foodstuffs, have been sent on board three Algerian Air Force transport planes by the Algerian Red Crescent (ARC) to Syria. Earlier, humanitarian aid consisting of 115 tons of pharmaceutical and food products and tents intended for Syria, in addition to aid of 95 tons of various products for Turkey were sent by the Algerian Red Crescent (CRA) as part of its noble mission in reducing humanitarian sufferings and improving lives of less-advantaged and most vulnerable communities locally and abroad. These operations took place in application of the instructions of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
For their part, the teams of the Algerian Civil Protection and the Algerian Red Crescent (ARC) deployed in Syria and Turkey gained the admiration of local and international prominent figures and bodies. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad hailed, on Friday, from the disaster-stricken locality of Bustan Al Qasr in Aleppo, the tireless efforts deployed by Algerian teams of the Civil Protection and the Algerian Red Crescent (ARC) currently operating in Syria to take part in rescue and search operations for missing persons.
In a statement to the Algerian television crew in Syria, during a visit to this locality to assess the damage caused by the earthquake, the Syrian President said “I belong to a generation that learned at a very young age at school that Algeria is the country of the million and a half martyrs, and to whom it was explained how Syrian women had sold their valuables in order to buy aid to be sent to the Algerians” during the liberation war.
The relationship between Algeria and Syria is based on “Syria’s support for Algeria” during the Glorious War of National Liberation, as well as on “Algeria’s support for decades for the Arab and Syrian causes”, he said, adding that “it is not surprising to see this relationship demonstrated in this glorious way through this impressive show of solidarity”.
“We feel that the Algerians have come from deep inside Syria to help the Syrians,” said the Syrian President. “This is the sincere feeling we have always had towards the Algerians,” he added.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, for his part, hailed, Sunday, the efforts exerted by the units of the Algerian Civil protection. Besides, the American newspaper “Washington Post” praised the tireless efforts deployed by the Algerian Civil Protection teams. Its correspondent from the Turkish Adiyaman region, Kareem Fahim described the civil protection personnel as “heroes”, after they succeeded in freeding two children from under the rubble of a building located on a street that had turned into ruins. It added that the achievements of the Algerian rescue team were remarkable at a time when despair began to creep into the souls.
Locally, President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune hailed, on Saturday, the units of the Civil Protection deployed in Turkey and Syria for their tireless efforts in rescuing and taking care of the disaster victims after the devastating earthquake.
President of the Republic wrote on his official twitter account “To our children of the Civil Protection in Turkey and Syria, I hail all of you for the smile and happiness you sowed among our brothers in Turkey and Syria with professionalism and heroism. Algeria is proud of you and you will return safe and sound by God’s grace.”
