Putrajaya
- Malaysian Foreign Minister Zembri Abdul Qadir called - in exclusive statements to Al-Jazeera Net - for concerted international efforts to solve the logistical and security problems that impede the arrival of aid to the people affected by the earthquake in Syria.
Abdul Qadir added that his country has been communicating since the first day of the earthquake with all concerned parties with the aim of the search and rescue teams reaching the stricken areas in Syria, and then delivering urgent relief materials and humanitarian aid in the long term, stressing the difficulties faced by the search and rescue teams in Syria, which are not related to Malaysia alone. in the different participating countries.
He added, "We will continue to search for any possible opportunity to deliver our aid to the Syrian people who are currently suffering a lot, and we have contacted our representatives in Syria and other parties, especially the Red Cross, and we will continue to discuss with the United Nations to search for any means through which we can deliver aid to the afflicted in Syria." ".
Other Malaysian government sources told Al-Jazeera Net that security and logistical obstacles prevented rescue teams from reaching the earthquake-stricken areas in Syria, and the matter was further complicated by the absence of a Malaysian diplomatic mission in Damascus for years, which was replaced by an honorary consul who follows Malaysian interests and bilateral relations.
Malaysian rescue teams were at the forefront of arriving to help the earthquake victims (Al Jazeera Net)
The first from the east
Given the distance and the usual decision-making method in Malaysia, it was surprising that Malaysia was among the first countries to come to the aid of the victims of the earthquake, and even the first country from Southeast Asia to send rescue teams to Turkey.
The Malaysian Foreign Minister said that more than 140 specialists in search and rescue operations arrived in Turkey in the first hours of the earthquake.
The aid that Turkey arrived from Malaysia for the first three days, according to the minister's statements, included 3 military transport flights carrying urgent relief materials estimated at more than 40 tons of medicines and medical equipment, and the establishment of a 60-bed field hospital and various examination units in the Ayadian region in Gaziantep (southern Turkey). ) In addition to two million dollars to contribute to urgent relief efforts.
The Malaysian minister indicated that a joint popular and official body was formed to follow up and coordinate urgent humanitarian aid or at the medium and long-term levels, and that it works in coordination with Turkish governmental and popular bodies.
A long tunnel to rescue 5 people from under the rubble (Reuters)
miracle
Abdul Qadir revealed that a Malaysian team was able to rescue 5 people in Turkey 5 days after the disaster occurred, by digging a side tunnel 8.5 meters long to reach the victims and pull them alive from under the rubble, considering that this achievement pushes all working teams not to lose hope, despite harsh conditions in which you work.
The minister continued, "We assure our brothers in Turkey and Syria to continue standing by them until the two countries recover from the ordeal that befell them, and I am confident that Turkey and Syria are able to rise from this disaster and return stronger than they were."
In a related development, a foreign ministry official said that the Malaysian rescue teams benefited from their experience in the field of disasters, whether frequent floods inside the country or earthquakes and volcanoes in neighboring Indonesia, explaining that a trained dog detected the five trapped victims under the rubble.