BRIGADIER GENERAL PAMELA L. MCGAHA COMMANDER OF NATO HEADQUARTERS SARAJEVO: HEROES OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

SARAJEVO, FEBRUARY 22 (ONASA) – Two weeks ago, devastating earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria. According to the latest estimates, 45.000 people died, and that number is growing day by day.
Tens of thousands are missing, and millions have been displaced.
In this tragic time when help is needed, an extraordinary group of dedicated and highly trained people rushed to provide help despite the danger.
According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, 53 countries have sent more than 6.600 rescuers to help with search and rescue operations.
Heroic men and women, ready to put their lives on the line to save people they’ve never met.
In this group there were over a hundred rescuers from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina: from both entities, the Ministry of Security and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These teams witnessed unspeakable horrors and worked day and night trying to reach people buried under the rubble of their homes.
It is difficult to watch footage of entire cities reduced to rubble and understand the risk to which the rescuers were exposed under such extremely dangerous circumstances.
Crises, like this one, break the barriers of diversity and give us the opportunity to see humanity and kindness in people: in selfless rescue teams, caring medical workers and generous citizens from all over BiH who rushed to donate clothes, blankets and money to those who lost everything.
Therefore, I wanted to publicly acknowledge and thank the rescuers from Bosnia and Herzegovina who came to the rescue, their family members who supported them, and the wonderful citizens throughout this country who urgently delivered humanitarian aid to our ally Turkey.
The immediate response from Bosnia and Herzegovina meant the difference between lives lost and lives saved.
I wish safety to all the heroes who are still helping and I look forward to welcoming them all home soon, Brigadier General Pamela McGaha, commander of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, wrote in her message.