President Al-Assad addresses the nation on the repercussions of the earthquake

President Bashar Al-Assad on Thursday addressed the nation in a televised speech on the repercussions of the earthquake that hit Syria on February 6th and on the national and humanitarian scene and on how the Syrians were able to embody these scenes during this disaster.

He explained the major economic, social and services challenges that will face the Syrian society in the coming period, as well as the measures taken by the government to secure temporary housing for the people affected by the earthquake and the rapid action to limit the economic deterioration that usually happens in affected areas.

The president also talked about the great efforts exerted by the civil and military institutions and by the local community and volunteers in the rescue operations, hailing the spontaneous popular reactions in support for the affected people.

“Protecting the homeland is a duty regardless of how big the challenges are and how weak or strong the capabilities are,” President Al-Assad said, hailing the deep sense of duty by everyone to protect, save and help their brothers and sisters affected by the earthquake in Aleppo, Lattakia and Hama.

“This national patriotic and humanitarian scene is not surprising for any of us, as we have felt it at different stages of the war on Syria. But now, it is clearer and more comprehensive. More importantly, it is more expressive, for it comes after twelve years of war and blockade, the president added.

The war has exhausted and drained a lot of national resources and weakened the country’s capabilities to face more crises, however، it gave the Syrian society the expertise and the ability to act quickly and effectively in the early hours of the earthquake, President Al-Assad pointed out.

He clarified that Syria has not been an earthquake area for about two and a half centuries. Neither the buildings nor the institutions nor the equipment were prepared for different types of natural disasters and this made it the first and the largest challenge of its kind.

He pointed out that the emergency aid sent by sisterly and friendly countries has significantly supported the national efforts to alleviate the impacts of the earthquake and save many of the injured.

“Earthquakes pose immediate and later challenges. The major social, economic and services challenges that we will face during the coming months and years are no less important than what we faced during the first days of the disaster, and this necessitates deep thinking, dialogue, solidarity and organized work by all national sectors,” President Al-Assad went on to say.

What is important now is to have a clear vision based on national consensus and broad dialogue and to tacke the repercussions of the earthquake step by step, he stressed, clarifying that after completing rescue operations and providing humaitarian aid, the government institutions have started to provide temporary housing for the affected people, until permanent housing is available in a later stage.

The president asserted that creating a fund for supporting the affected people is under study, noting that necessary legislations will be passed and measures will be taken in order to alleviate the economic burdens on the population of the affected areas and to accelerate the economic cycle there.

President Al-Assad expressed pride in all the courageous citizens, both residents and expatriates, who have mobilized in order to defend the real image of the Syrian society in the different mass and social media and who contributed to alleviating this painful tragedy as much as they could.

He thanked all the Arab and foreign countries that have stood with Syria from the first hours of the disaster and “whose assistance have made the greatest impact in strengthening our capabilities to face the difficult circumstances in those critical hours.”

He also thanked the rescue teams from different countries that actively took part in saving lives and continued to work until the hope for finding a live person under the rubble ended.

The president stressed that the first and most important thing which the Syrians should learn from this tough experience is to believe in their own capabilities, and realize that their solidarity, not their fragmentation, enables them to overcome the difficult circumstances.

Find full text of President Al-Assad speech in this link: https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=300845

Hamda Mustafa