Turkish First Lady visits PRCS headquarters

Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan said that Turkey will continue to support relief and rehabilitation.

ISLAMABAD: Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan on Thursday said that Turkey will continue to support relief and rehabilitation of the flood victims of Pakistan.

The first lady, accompanied by the President of Turkish Red Crescent Society Tekin Küçükali, stated this during her visit to Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) Disaster Management and Logistic Centre here.

She said that PRCS and Turkish Red Crescent Society (TRCS) will have to play a leading role in the relief and rehabilitation efforts, as the two organisations did for the victims of the 2005 earthquake.

“Turkish people feel the pain of their Pakistani brethren and stand with them in this hour of need,” said Erdogan. She said that the funds are not only being given by the government, but the people of Turkey, individually or through charity organisations, are donating to help the victims of the floods.

PRCS Chairperson Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar thanked the Turkish First Lady for her support and said that Turkey is among the first countries to respond to any disaster in Pakistan. She said the first lady’s visit to Pakistan and the flood affected areas “shows deep love and sympathy on the part of the Turkish government and its people for Pakistan”.

The senator said that PRCS and TRCS are jointly working round the clock to mitigate the sufferings of the flood victims. She said that the PRCS, in collaboration with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRS), is providing emergency shelter, food and medical facilities to over 2.1 million flood victims. PRCS has also set up Zonal offices in the affected areas to expedite the relief work, she added.

Emine took a tour of the state of the art Disaster Management and Logistic Centre. The Rs200 million project was built with the support of TRCS, as a part of their capacity building plan.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2010.