On 29 May 2015, the second humanitarian shipment of medical equipment and basic medicines for the people of Rojava arrived at the Syrian-Iraqi border.
The shipment of medicines, ordered by the Italian Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, departed from the UN depot in Brindisi bound for Dohuk, in the Autonomous Region of Iraqi Kurdistan, where it was taken over by our operators for subsequent distribution.
Rojava borders Turkey to the north, which keeps its borders closed, and to the south is a long front against Daesh militias. We broke this siege through Iraqi Kurdistan, which has a small border point with Rojava. The shipment, worth a total of 90,000 euro, consisted of medical equipment, basic medicines and other materials needed to provide initial care for 20,000 traumatised patientsÉ™.
This is the first important official gesture of support for the Kurdish-majority area of Syria by Italian institutions. After the battle of Kobane, they had long been looking for a way to support Rojava and its people, who are building a unique model for the area of secularism, self-government, and co-existence between Kurdish, Yazidi, Christian, and Arab communities.
We received the Italian shipment in Iraqi Kurdistan and took care of all stages of transport to Syria and the Rojava area, where the aid was distributed thanks to the Kurdish Red Crescent.
This expedition follows by a few days the one that took place between 2 and 3 May 2015, when a first shipment of humanitarian aid destined for the population of Rojava was delivered by Un Ponte Per thanks to the extraordinary contribution of the Tavola Valdese's Ufficio Otto per mille. In that case too, the shipment was composed of medicines that could not be found in the area, specifically for the treatment of cancer patients and intended for about 6,000 people in Rojava, which were distributed to the hospitals of Derik/Al Malikiah and Qamishlo.
