Fires in Western Thrace deeply affect the kinsmen
The Consultative Committee of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace (BTTADK) launched an aid campaign for the compatriots suffering from the forest fires that have affected Greece since 19 August.
BTTADK President and Komotini Mufti İbrahim Şerif, in his statement to AA correspondent, said that the fires that broke out in Western Thrace in recent days deeply affected the people of the region.
Stating that they have started an aid campaign in order to lend a helping hand to the victims of the fires and to heal their wounds, Şerif said, "In the Rhodope province of Komotini, places such as Susurköy and Narlıköy, which are among our neighbouring villages, have been greatly affected by these fires. Before we recovered from the shock of this fire here, big fires occurred in the villages such as Dikilitaş and Hotallar in South Evros where our compatriots live."
Stating that he had visited the fire regions, Şerif said that the damage in Evros region was greater.
Şerif continued as follows:
"Although there was not much damage in our villages at the foot of the Rhodope Mountains in Komotini, we saw that some barns and houses were burnt. We also saw that the villages of our kinsmen in Evros region were also affected. We determined that there was great damage in Evros. We saw that small cattle perished and olive trees, which are the source of livelihood of our people there, were also burnt."
Şerif noted that they first tried to meet the needs of the kinsmen engaged in animal husbandry.
Stating that they also announced the aid campaign to the public in the Friday sermon, Şerif said, "I hope our people will participate in this campaign."
"These moments were really scary"
Ahmet Hüseyin, whose house was damaged in a fire in Western Thrace, said: "When we received the news of the fire, we did not know what to do at first. We had to quickly pack up and leave our house. We could only take a few items with us and the fire spread rapidly. These moments were really scary."
Stating that he encountered traffic jams and panic-stricken people on the road, Hüseyin said that a complete chaos was prevailing in the region.
Over 800 thousand acres of land burnt in Alexandroupoli and Evros
According to the satellite data of the Forest Fires Observatory (EPADAP), the fire that started on 19 August in Alexandroupoli and Evros was effective in more than 826 thousand acres until 28 August.Although the fire in the region is largely under control, the flames are raging in places with the effect of the wind.
Teams from the Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC), Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia, France, Czechia, Romania, Slovakia and Albania are supporting Greece to extinguish the fires in the region.
