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| Written on a placard in Turkish with Arabic script: "Life is Beautiful When Shared; Aid Collected for the Turkmen Nation from West Azerbaijan, Urmia City." |
Aid collected from various regions of Iranian Azerbaijan continues to be sent to the Turkmen Sahra region, which suffered severe damage from deadly floods.
Images and messages shared on social media show Turkmen writers, clerics, and social activists expressing gratitude for the aid sent from Iranian Azerbaijan and the Qashqai tribe.
Social activists wrote, "The flood disaster united the Turks living in Iranian Azerbaijan and the Qashqai tribe with the Turkmen."
Germany's broadcasting company, Deutsche Welle, spoke to journalists active in Turkmen Sahra about the impacts of the floods.
Deutsche Welle reported, "According to local journalists, a large amount of aid has come to Turkmen Sahra from provinces like West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, and Zanjan, where Turks reside. This has worried officials who evaluate such events from a security perspective. In some areas, the police have seized the aid and handed it over to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Because of this, activists collecting aid in Azerbaijan are trying to deliver the aid to Turkmen Sahra themselves."
In a video shared on social media, Turkmen clerics embrace those bringing aid from Iranian Azerbaijan and the Qashqai tribe, thanking them.
Turkmen human rights activist Danyal Babayani told Voice of America, "The first to respond with aid were the Turks. In the campaigns we organized on social media, our Turkish brothers and sisters came to our aid—may they be blessed."
Some social media users wrote that the Turkmen have lost hope in the government and are now looking to the aid coming from Iranian Azerbaijan.
In recent days, former political prisoner and Turkmen physicist Omid Kokabi shared a video in Turkish, drawing attention to the aid from Azerbaijan and providing information on how it was delivered to the region.
Turkmen users have also shared messages of solidarity and love placed in the aid packages sent from Iranian Azerbaijan.
"This message came out of one of the packages. It’s from our Turkish friends," wrote one user, sharing an image of a note with the words:
"Turkmen friends, we are always with you – the Turkish nation."
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
“Sel fəlakəti İranda türkmənlər və türkləri birləşdirdi”