The Russian Red Cross (the RRC), being the oldest humanitarian agency in Russia, has completed a two-week humanitarian mission in the Syrian Arab Republic. Since March 10, the RRC team has distributed several tons of humanitarian aid to the earthquake-affected population. More than 1,000 people have received psychosocial support, humanitarian and medical assistance.
The assistance was provided at 10 temporary accommodation points (TAPs) in Latakia, as well as at the RRC mobile unit. A 10-member team of medical specialists, psychosocial support assistants and emergency response specialists of the Russian Red Cross has been working in Syria in cooperation with Syrian colleagues with the support fr om the authorities of Latakia, the Syrian Red Crescent, the Al-Areen Charitable Foundation during two weeks.
“During this mission in Syria, our team has provided assistance to over 1,000 people. More than 330 people received medical assistance and almost 800 those affected received psychosocial support. In addition, our staff has distributed several tons of humanitarian aid, including over 3 tons of infant formula and baby food. Now we are considering the option to continue the mission”, – commented the President of the Russian Red Cross, Pavel Savchuk.
The preparation and realization of the RRC mission has become feasible due to the prompt cooperation with Rossotrudnichestvo (Russian Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation) and the international program “Mission. Dobro”, as well as with the support of Russian Railways JSCo (“RZD”).
The RRC team has established a mobile unit in the territory of the main temporary accommodation point (TAP) in Latakia in order to be able to provide medical assistance to the affected population and distribute humanitarian aid kits.
According to Alexei Gaponov, an anaesthesiologist and reanimatologist, the chairman of the RRC regional branch in the city of Kursk, the infectious diseases doctors have become the most sought for skills and knowledge.
“We were working at a temporary accommodation point wh ere were located families, which had lost their houses and accommodations after the earthquake. In addition to injuries due to destruction, people were applying for help in view of the exacerbation of chronic diseases, acute pathology, and infections caused by multiple occupation. Affected families quite often had no access to medical care, so for some patients, even adults, it was their first lifetime experience contacting the medical staff”, – as it was informed by Alexei Gaponov.
Additionally, all those in need could apply for psychosocial support to the RRC psychologists. The RRC team included two specialists who were helping people to adapt to new conditions after the earthquake. The specialists were working not only with adults, but also with children within the framework of the mission “Children in Emergencies”.
“By providing psychosocial support for children, we set ourselves a goal to create an island of normal life, so that children have the opportunity to work through the experiences associated with the earthquake and the change in their usual way of life. We implemented various tools in our work. For instance, we drew, sculpted figures of plasticine, constructed figures from paper to make new exhibitions every day. Seeing that their works provoked interest among the others, the children were convinced of their importance, which was very important for increasing their self-esteem and self-respect”, – shared her experience Alexandra Berezhnaya, a medical psychologist, a member of the RRC emergency response team.
Beyond that, the RRC specialists were organizing games for children, physical education classes, were holding master classes in first aid, arranging evenings with cartoon movies, got acquainted children to Russian language while the children were teaching Arabic words to the RRC staff. Upon request, the specialists provided personal consultations. Mostly there were complaints of fear, anxiety, and sleep disorders among patients. The psychologists were assisted in translation by local organizations and individuals.
“Positive changes can be stated – children became more organized, which was manifested in collective games and creative activities, the overall emotional background became more positive, the proneness to conflicts significantly decreased”, – commented Alexandra Berezhnaya.
Two devastating 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes rattled the southern province of Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on February 6. Tremors and aftershocks were also experienced in neighboring countries, namely in Syria.
