KSrelief chief pledges further aid for Syria and Turkey earthquake survivors

Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah says religion and government do not matter when it comes to humanity

Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah holds a briefing on Saudi aid work in Turkey and Syria. Photo: KSrelief

Before the third Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum, Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, supervisor general of KSrelief, told a briefing in the Saudi capital that there would be more aid for earthquake survivors in Syria and Turkey.

The forum will take place on Monday and Tuesday.

Dr Al Rabeeah shed light on the kingdom's continuing humanitarian work in Turkey and Syria.

He spoke about the main challenges and solutions, and the importance of the forum during a time of global crises.

“KSrelief’s work is based on people, not governments or religion,” he said, when asked if aid was reaching Syria given recent tension in the region.

A woman walks among destroyed buildings in Hatay, Turkey. Getty Images

A woman mourns a relative during the burial of one of the earthquake victims in Antakya, southeastern Turkey. AP Photo

A family photo is seen amid the rubble in Hatay. Getty Images

Syrian refugees in Turkey return to their home country following the deadly earthquake. AFP

Members of NGOs Deathcare Embalming Team and Turkish Kurt-Ar inspect the bucket of an excavator as they search for bodies in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. AP Photo

Dust covers a family photo album found in Antakya. AP Photo

A man made homeless by the 7.8-magnitude quake carries mattresses distributed by an NGO at a makeshift camp in Afrin, in Syria's Aleppo province. AFP

A cracked road near the quake’s epicentre in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. AFP

A rescuer stands near the site where Aleyna Olmez, 17, was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, about 10 days after the quake struck. AFP

A rescuer holds a cat after it was rescued from the ruins of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras. AFP

Quake survivors queue for food amid the rubble in Kahramanmaras. Reuters

Bedran, a local resident who lost his house in the earthquake, keeps warm in Antakya, Turkey. Reuters

A girl carries a box of water bottles next to a damaged mosque in Antakya. Reuters

A car lies crushed by parts of a badly damaged building in Samandag, Turkey. AP

Residentes remove their belongings from their destroyed house in Samandag. AP

Aleyna Olmez, 17, is rescued after being trapped for 10 days in Kahramanmaras. Getty

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, left, with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Ankara. AFP

A message scrawled on a car covered in dust from collapsed buildings in Antakya, Turkey. AP

Destruction in Antakya. AP

A cracked road leads to a flooded area in Antakya. AP

A man looks bewildered at the site of collapsed buildings in Hatay, Turkey. EPA

Numbered stones near graves of earthquake victims at a cemetery in Adiyaman, Turkey. EPA

A makeshift camp set up amid the rubble in Antakya, south of Hatay. AFP

A woman holds her baby inside a tent in a camp in Antakya, Hatay. AFP

Greek and Turkish rescuers are at work to extract bodies of victims from the rubble in Antakya. AFP

Samar Hamouda, 44, recalls her experience of the earthquake destroying her home, at Tishreen Hospital in Latakia, Syria. Reuters

A damaged house in Jableh, Syria. Reuters

Photos of missing children left in hope in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

People collect copies of holy books from the rubble in Kahramanmaras. Reuters

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras. Reuters

People carry a bodybag as residents wait for their relatives to be pulled out from the rubble in Hatay. AFP

Dust covers a family photo album found in the debris of a building in Antakya. AP

Portuguese rescue team members try to free the dog named Tarcin from the rubble in Antakya in Hatay. EPA

An injured survivor at a makeshift hospital set up at Turkish Bayraktar warship anchored near Iskenderun city, southern Turkey. AP

A makeshift hospital set up at Turkish Bayraktar warship anchored near Iskenderun city, southern Turkey. AP

Britain's King Charles III (C) meets with members of the Turkish diaspora community who have been collecting, packaging and organising the transportation of food, blankets and warm clothing for people who have recently been affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, during a visit to the West London Turkish Volunteers, in Hounslow, greater London. AFP

People stand by the fire next to the ruins of a collapsed building in Elbistan, Turkey. Reuters

Destroyed buildings in Syria's rebel-held village of Atarib, in the north-western Aleppo province. AFP

Rescuers carry Fatma, 15, who was pulled out from the rubble in Hatay, Turkey. Reuters

A displaced woman receives food inside a stadium in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

People lineup to receive aid supplies at a makeshift camp in Iskenderun city in southern Turkey. AP

Humanitarian aid provided by Saudi Arabia for survivors of the February 6 earthquake are unloaded at Aleppo Airport in northern Syria. AFP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the World Government Summit in Dubai via video link. Antonie Robertson/The National

A man walks between trains being using as shelters in Iskenderun, southern Turkey. AP Photo

A woman and children inside a train being used as shelter after the earthquake, in Iskenderun. AP Photo

Tents erected in a school yard for Syrians who have lost their homes after the deadly quake, in the rebel-held town of Harem in Syria. Reuters

A woman walks by the destroyed Habib-i Neccar mosque in the historic southern city of Antakya in Hatay, Turkey. AFP

Rescuers pull out a 12-year-old Syrian girl, Cudi, from the rubble in Hatay. AFP

Amar, a Syrian refugee living in Turkey, looks on as search for survivors continues in Kahramanmaras. Reuters

Displaced people keep warm by a fire in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

Earthquake survivors receive distributed meals in Golbasi, Turkey. AP

A woman stands amid boxes of donated clothes in Golbasi, Turkey. AP

A man walks near a damaged building that leans on a neighbouring house in Golbasi, Turkey. AP

UN emergency relief co-ordinator Martin Griffiths stands amid quake-damaged buildings in Aleppo, Syria. Reuters

Delegates observe a moment of silence for the Turkey–Syria earthquake before the start of the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

People keep warm by a fire as the search for survivors continues a week after the earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

A child receives food in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

A dog is seen through a glass door in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

Children walk in the street with food boxes in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

A minaret stands as the sun rises over the earthquake-hit city of Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Reuters

He said KSrelief was working with Syria’s Red Crescent and with the help of Turkey they were able to provide aid to earthquake victims.

“Saudi Arabia is distributing 3,000 units of transient homes among Turkey and Syria equally,” he said, adding that more than 3,000 volunteers were helping survivors.

We want to see more youth engagement and see how they can be innovative and use science to maximise humanitarian work

Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah,
supervisor general of KSrelief

“If we cannot make a change on ground, we aren’t moving forward.”

He described the disaster as “large and tragic, which will take months to address”.

“We were one of the first to pass through the north of Syria as well as Turkey,” he said. “We got approval within a few hours for Syria, too, We have a trusting relationship with both countries.

"We cannot split humanitarian work with any motive. We do not differentiate between Turkey or Syria, nor any country in the world."

Dr Al Rabeeah, a Saudi paediatric surgeon, was health minister until 2015 when was made the head of humanitarian work in the kingdom for KSrelief.

To many in the Middle East, he is regarded as a hero for his expertise separating conjoined twins born in extremely difficult circumstances. He has successfully operated on several conjoined twins, most from Yemen.

Faleh Al Subaie, director of operations support at KSrelief, oversees the arrival of humanitarian aid relief packages provided by Saudi Arabia at Aleppo International Airport in northern Syria on February 14. AFP

KSrelief also launched an online hospital to help those affected by the earthquake and provide them with medical consultations for children, and other services in obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology and psychiatry.

So far 14 planeloads of aid and medical supplies have been sent to help the earthquake survivors in Syria and Turkey.

“Initially it was chaos, as is in any disaster stricken area, but we started building in a systematic way,” Dr Al Rabeeah said.

He said KSrelief aimed to keep working to help those most affected as a priority, especially women and children, with a government budget to be announced soon, as government fund-raising continued.

More than $120 million has been raised by the national platform to date.

Citizens and residents in the kingdom have been using an online portal to donate to the cause. Muhammad Al Ahlia donated 300,000 riyals ($80,000).

Dr Al Rabeeah said work would continue to help children through support and education, as “education is always lost in disasters”.

He said humanitarian work in Ukraine has continued with donations reaching $400 million.

“We are planning to send further planes with aid, depending on the need,” Dr Al Rabeeah said.

He said the Riyadh forum would also focus on youth and innovation as ways of ensuring that gains from development aid can be sustained.

“We want to see more youth engagement and see how they can be innovative and use science to maximise humanitarian work,” Dr Al Rabeeah said.

He said KSrelief aimed to invest more in scientific research to help fill the gap between the “needs and funds”, and harness the role of AI to help in analysis and achieve sustainable development goals, as well as providing “immediate relief”.