Turkish women in Belgium arrange aid campaign for Yemen

By Yusuf Hatip

BRUSSELS (AA) - The final event of a humanitarian aid campaign for Yemen launched by Turkish women in Belgium was held on Sunday.

The campaign was launched by the female members of the Union of International Democrats (UID) in Belgium in collaboration with the Turkish Red Crescent.

They collected nearly €48,200 (approx. $54,500) at the Sunday’s event held at the Turkish Red Crescent’s Brussels office to help needy people in war-devastated Yemen.

Speaking at the program, Turkish ambassador to Belgium Zeki Levent Gumrukcu, hails “praiseworthy” support of Turkish women.

"You show sensitivity to the tragedy of humanity thousands of kilometers away while sitting in your warm house, it is praiseworthy, deserves every support," he added.

Gumrukcu stated that the humanitarian tragedy in Yemeni could not get enough space in the media due to the power controversies of some interest groups in the country.

Founded in 2004, the UID has undertaken efforts to ensure the active participation of European citizens with Turkish background/citizenship in political, administrative and economic fields and has endeavoured to raise their standard of living.

Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

The ongoing violence has destroyed much of Yemen’s infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of “the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.