Through the “charity of charity”, Turkey sends aid to Lebanon

A ceremony was held in the Turkish state of Mersin to bid farewell to the “charity ship” loaded with 524 tons of humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

On Friday, it was reported that a convoy of 15 trucks carrying 524 tons of humanitarian aid, including baby formula and food, arrived at the port of Tachogo in Mersin to be loaded onto the ship.

He explained that the preparation of the aid was coordinated by the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), based on the directives of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A farewell ceremony was held for the ship, which was attended by Deputy Interior Minister Ismai Çataklı, Mersin Wali Ali Ihsan Sou, AFAD head Younes Sezar and other officials.

In his speech during the farewell ceremony, Çataklı said that the ship carries, in addition to humanitarian aid, the love, affection and prayers of the Anatolian people.

He added that the aid is directed to our “brothers in Lebanon,” with whom we have ties of love.

He explained that the Turkish people extended a helping hand to people in times of distress throughout history without any discrimination between race, religion or color, and Çataklı pointed out that the aid will be distributed to the needy before Ramadan.

For his part, Sazar indicated that they planned to send the second batch of aid, consisting of 18 trucks, next week.

On Thursday, AFAD clarified in a statement that several Turkish civil society organizations supported the campaign, which is coordinated by the “Turkish Disasters and Emergencies Administration” based on the directives of President Erdogan.