Kurdish Red Crescent

Kurdish Red Crescent
Formation	1993
Type	Nonprofit organization
Legal status	Foundation
Purpose	Humanitarian
Headquarters	Kobane
Region served	Rojava, Western Kurdistan^[1]
Website	http://www.heyvasor.com/en

The Kurdish Red Crescent (Heyvar Sor in Kurdish) is a humanitarian nonprofit organization with centers in Germany and Kobane ^[2] in the de facto autonomous region of Rojava in Syria. It is the primary provider of medical care and aid for refugees who have fled from attacks by ISIL and the Bashar Assad regime.^[3] It is also involved in the reconstruction of Kobane, which was largely destroyed after months of fighting with ISIL.

Projects

There are five main projects of Heyva Sor: Children's Project, Health Project, Emergency Aid Project, Prisoner Solidarity Project and the Project for Cooperation with Like-Minded Aid Organizations.

Appeals

The Kurdish Red Crescent has called for international medical and humanitarian aid, as well as for medical personnel to return to Kobane to help^[4] as there is no clean water or sewage treatment due to damage during the Siege of Kobane.

Fundraising

There are fundraising branches in several European countries: including Germany and Sweden where the society was founded in 1993, and the UK where the organization is registered as a charity.^[5]

ICRC

The Kurdish Red Crescent is not currently a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross or part of the International Federation. In 2010 the Supervisory and Service Directorate of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany ruled that the Kurdish Red Crescent could not use the Red Crescent or the Red Cross symbols because only states are authorized to do so.^[6]

Criticism

Turkish police claim the Kurdish Red Crescent provides financial support and new recruits to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey and some other countries.^[7]

External links

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, August 24, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.