Largest aid convoy from BiH for Syrian refugees arrived in Reyhanli

(Patria) - The largest humanitarian aid convoy from Bosnia and Herzegovina, sent by MFS-EMMAUS on April 17, arrived today in Reyhanli, a town near the Turkish-Syrian border. The convoy was welcomed by representatives of MFS-EMMAUS along with representatives of the Islamic Community (Šemso Germić – chief imam of MIZ Ljubuški, Džemal ef. Salkić – Coordinator for social welfare of the Zenica Mufti, Rašid Orlović – technical secretary of MIZ Tešanj, Esad Fuško – Coordinator for social welfare at MIZ Travnik, Amer Osmanović – Coordinator for social welfare at MIZ Zvornik, and Amela Jordamović, representative of the Media Center of the Islamic Community). Six hundred tons of basic foodstuffs donated by citizens of our country through the muftiates of Tuzla, Travnik, Zenica, and Mostar were delivered to the logistics center of the IHH organization, from where the aid will be delivered to camps with Syrian refugees and to bakeries, of which there are currently three.

Part of the transportation costs were covered by the Federal Ministry of Displaced Persons and Refugees, the Government of TK, and the Turkish organization IHH.

"Syria has been a bit forgotten lately, not as much aid is coming as before. IHH used to send up to 20-30 trucks to Syria daily, and now only 1-2 trucks, so this aid is very welcome, especially in the upcoming Ramadan days. This aid will be sufficient for the nutrition of refugees for the next month. I thank Bosnia and Herzegovina, its people for the aid, which is the greatest aid we have received for Syrian refugees in the past year," said Zeki Tahiroglu, coordinator of the IHH logistics center in Reyhanli.

"The suffering of the Syrian people is also our suffering, and it is similar to what we experienced in BiH earlier. The aid that the Turkish people provide to Syrians is an example for us and for the whole world. Today, as we witness the arrival of the largest humanitarian aid convoy that the people of BiH have ever sent to a crisis area, we express our gratitude to God for helping us successfully complete this action. With today's convoy, we have sent over 2000 tons of aid, and we are happy that the aid arrived before Ramadan," said Elmedin Škreb, assistant director of MFS-EMMAUS.

Currently, along the Turkish-Syrian border, there are about 400 refugee camps where Syrian refugees depend on humanitarian aid. In the area of Reyhanli alone, there are about 140,000 refugees and two camps, and one of them houses up to 40,000 refugees. In the coming days, MFS-EMMAUS, together with representatives of the Islamic Community, will visit orphanages, houses with Syrian families, and one of the largest refugee camps, "ATMA".

In previous years, in these aid campaigns, MFS-EMMAUS sent 53 trucks with 1,280 tons of humanitarian aid, consisting of food and hygiene products. In addition to food products, three shipping containers of clothing and footwear have also been sent so far.