The second "Kindness Train" carrying 920.8 tons of basic needs and humanitarian aid departed from Turkey for Afghanistan Friday with a farewell ceremony held at the Ankara Train Station.
The aid campaign is being conducted with the contribution of civil society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) under the coordination of Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and the Turkish State Railways (TCDD), following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's instructions to send a "train of kindness" to Afghanistan carrying humanitarian aid.
In order to meet the basic needs of the people in Afghanistan, the 45-wagon train is transporting aid that includes food, clothing, blankets, and health and hygiene products. The materials being sent by TCDD wagons will pass through Iran where they will be transferred to Turkmen wagons and will continue to Torghundi, Afghanistan's border station with Turkmenistan. The journey of the second Kindness Train is planned to take 11-12 days like the first one.
Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Çataklı, who attended the farewell ceremony, emphasized in his speech that the Turkish nation has always extended a helping hand to the oppressed in the world at all times and is trying to do so today as well.
Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) head Kerem Kınık also visited Afghanistan last week and held high-level meetings to discuss the distribution of humanitarian aid among Afghans.
"As the Turkish Red Crescent and Turkey, we will always continue to extend our helping hand to meet the needs of both the needy living in Afghanistan and the people who migrated from Afghanistan for economic reasons and are trying to establish a life elsewhere."
The agency head also warned that the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover and the possible migration wave it causes will affect all countries from Iran to Europe, adding: "We have to start a global mobilization."
Aid groups describe Afghanistan’s plight as one of the world’s most rapidly growing humanitarian crises.
According to the United Nations, half the population now faces acute hunger, over 9 million people have been displaced and millions of children are out of school.
Previously, the U.N. and its partners launched a $4.4 billion funding appeal to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan in 2022.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also warned that millions of Afghans are on the verge of death, urging the international community to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and jump-start its banking system.
The Turkish government has taken a pragmatic approach to the recent events in Afghanistan. Underlining that new realities have emerged in the country, Ankara said it would move forward accordingly while keeping communication with all relevant leaders open.
NATO member Turkey maintained its embassy in Afghanistan after Western countries withdrew following the Taliban takeover and have urged those countries to step up engagement. At the same time, it said it will only work fully with the Taliban if they form a more inclusive administration.
Also, Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum-seekers attempting to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution. Concerns have risen over a possible spike in migrants from Afghanistan, due to the United States pullout from the country and the following surge of Taliban attacks.
Turkey has made it clear that it will not bear the burden of the migration crises experienced as a result of the decisions of third countries. Faced with a potential migrant wave due to the instability in Afghanistan, Turkey has maximized measures on its eastern border. Turkey is continuing to bolster the security on its border with Iran to prevent any new influx of migrants.