By a Staff Reporter
AN EIGHT-MEMBER mission of the Cypriot chapter of ‘Doctors of the World’ is leaving today for Iraq to distribute around 160 tonnes of humanitarian help collected in Cyprus.
The head of the mission, child surgeon Elias Papadopoulos, said 12 containers had already reached Syria and they are expected to clear customs by tomorrow.
“We expect that they will clear customs on Monday afternoon so that on Tuesday or Wednesday, when all the procedures are completed, we will travel to Baghdad and distribute the material,” Papadopoulos said.
The aid will be distributed in camps on the outskirts of Baghdad, as well as in hospitals and schools in the Iraqi capital.
Papadopoulos said there was increased demand for help since all the aid previously sent by humanitarian organisations has been exhausted.
“The needs will be tremendous,” Papadopoulos said.
He added that the mission will be difficult because of the lack of proper authorities, which would mean extra bureaucratic procedures.
The organisation has managed to put together around 160 tonnes of food, water and medicine, all of which was either donated or purchased from cash donated by ordinary people, organisations, companies and the Church in Cyprus.
The mission is expected to return on Saturday.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
