The Turkish Red Crescent organized a special photo exhibition on Monday in Ankara on World Humanitarian Day to highlight the importance of protecting volunteers in war and disaster zones.
"There are humanitarian aid teams running regardless of geography, language, religion and race. Unfortunately, these humanitarian aid teams have been the target of attacks from time to time, most notably in the last two years," said the president of the nonprofit organization, Fatma Meric Yilmaz.
The exhibition included the themes of "Humanitarian Aid” and "Not a Target,” as well as a special section dedicated to Red Crescent employee Mehmet Arif Kidiman, who was killed in an attack while carrying out aid activities in Syria.
The exhibition also includes photos taken by Anadolu photojournalists under the theme "Not a Target,” which stresses that humanitarian aid workers should not be targeted.
"We want to underline through this exhibition today that we need to keep humanitarian aid corridors open and protect humanitarian aid workers and civilians no matter what,” Yilmaz said.
Jessie Thompson, the head of a delegation with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Türkiye, said that since the beginning of this year, they have lost 28 Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff while carrying out their humanitarian duties.
Noting that this year has been one of the deadliest for its staff and volunteers, Thompson said that each of these people was a symbol of hope, courage and resilience in their communities.
She pointed to a rise in violence against volunteers and staff since Israel launched its offensive on Gaza on Oct. 7 last year following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, saying they call for immediate and urgent action to protect humanitarian workers around the world.
Thompson also said they call on governments to strengthen the protection of Red Cross and Red Crescent teams and the public to recognize that humanitarian workers are not targets.
She underlined that security is a collective responsibility and local humanitarian organizations should not bear the burden of ensuring the safety of staff and volunteers alone.
