Greek civil campaign for solidarity reaches out to Kobane

ANKARA

A campaign for solidarity with the people of Kobane, which was launched in Greece, has already yielded results, with considerable humanitarian assistance collected in Greece reaching Turkey’s southern province of Gaziantep and the nearby town of Suruç in Şanlıurfa province in late February.

The campaign’s motto was “Solidarity with Kobane means keeping life alive,” and several civil society organizations, as well as municipalities and national radio channels, actively joined the campaign in Turkey’s Aegean neighbor. The Sto Kokkino radio station, an initiative called “Solidarity for Everybody,” the PRAKSIS addiction treatment center, and the Civil Servants Union were among those who participated in the campaign.

Ultimately, 13 tons of staple foods, 124 large boxes of drugs, 1,400 packages of medical material, and 1,000 new blankets were taken to Turkey by a 23-person delegation from Greece.

The delegation that arrived in Istanbul on Feb. 23 proceeded to Şanlıurfa on the same day. The first part of the assistance was handed over to officials from the Turkish Red Crescent Society (Kızılay) in Gaziantep and the largest part of the assistance was taken to Suruç, where it was handed over to officials.

“We once more thank everybody who has joined this campaign and we convey the most true-hearted feelings of those from Kobane to whom this assistance has reached,” a representative from the delegation told the Hürriyet Daily News ahead of their departure for Athens.

Throughout the five days they spent in Southeastern Anatolia before returning to Athens, the delegation made contact with politicians, local administrators, municipalities, civil society organizations, and associations, while also visiting refugee camps in the region hosting Syrian people.

Diyarbakır Co-Mayor Gültan Kışanak, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Diyarbakır Provincial Chair Zübeyde Zümrüt, and Feyza Abdi, a local elected deputy of Kobane who is now a refugee in Turkey, were among the individuals who the Greek group met.

The group from Greece was composed of Mirto Bolota, Dikeos Psikakos, Ilias Daskalopoulos, Katerina Ventoni, Emi Karimali, Cina Sivirli, Irini Probona, Tanasis Ciumbas, Dina Daskalopoulou, Petros Kaçakos, Mihalis Karayannis, Georgios Deçis, Lidya Kontordu, Ibrahim Muslem, Paraskevas Pothitos, Panayotis Haldeos, Haris Maçukas, Georgia Ikonomou, Katerina Prifti, Angeliki Fikoura, Katerina Papagika, Eleni Hristuli, Yesthimani Epitimiadu and Georgios Karaçibanis.