Chinese govt’s first shipment of emergency humanitarian aid arrives in Afghan disaster-stricken area

Chinese government's first shipment of emergency humanitarian aid to Afghanistan worth 30 million yuan ($4.1 million), including tents, folding beds, thick blankets clothing and other earthquake relief supplies urgently needed by the Afghan people, arrived in Herat city in Herat Province in northwestern Afghanistan on Sunday, the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan announced on Monday. 

Meanwhile, humanitarian supplies worth about 500,000 yuan provided by the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) also arrived in the province.  

On the same day, the handover ceremony of the first consignment of Chinese earthquake relief supplies to Afghanistan was held at the disaster management department of the interim government in Afghanistan. Zhao Xing, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan, and the officials from the disaster management department of the Afghan interim government and the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), attended the ceremony. 

The Chinese government has provided 30 million yuan in aid to Afghanistan to help the people in the disaster-stricken area overcome difficulties, reflecting the friendship Chinese people feel toward the people of Afghanistan, Zhao said. 

“I believe that, with the united efforts of the Afghan interim government and various sectors of society in Afghanistan, the people in the disaster-stricken area will certainly be able to overcome difficulties and rebuild their homes,” Zhao said. 

An official from the disaster management department of the Afghan interim government introduced that the Afghan side is conducting emergency relief and post-disaster reconstruction work in Herat, distributing relief supplies to the people in the disaster-stricken area and establishing temporary shelters. The Afghan side expressed deep gratitude for the timely humanitarian aid provided by China, which will be remembered forever.

An official from the ARCS briefed officials on the earthquake situation in Herat and ongoing relief efforts, expressing sincere gratitude to the Chinese government, the RCSC and the Chinese people for their selfless and valuable assistance during the most difficult times for Afghanistan. 

Zhao and the official from the Afghan side also signed the certificates for the handover of aid from the Chinese government and the RCSC to Afghanistan. 

Two deadly quakes, each with a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale, followed by several aftershocks, rocked northwestern Afghanistan with their epicenter in the Zanda Jan district of Herat Province on October 7 local time, leaving at least 2,400 dead and thousands injured.