Israel first to send aid to Colombian flood victims where 2 million have been left homeless

December 24, 2010 07:27


Two million people have been left homeless and hundreds have been killed in the floods in recent weeks. Most of the damage has been in Medellin.

Yuval Azulai at GLOBES

EXCERPTS:

“It’s painful to see what is happening in the regions hit by disaster in Colombia. The country finally pulled out of a complex security situation in recent years, and was on the path to prosperity and development, and now it’s been hit by nature. We will have to see how we cope with disaster here,” said Global CST president Major-General (reserves) Yisrael Ziv.

The aid was coordinated between Minister of Defense Ehud Barak and Ministry of Defense director general Udi Shani on the Israel side and Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and Colombian Ministry of Defense officials.

Ziv said, “The Colombian leaders declared a national state of emergency and every government minister is responsible for handling the catastrophe in the various regions of the country. The damage is vast and currently believed to amount to about $10 billion. They will have to rebuild highway infrastructures, buildings and dams and this work will cost a great deal. They’ll have to build from scratch. Many countries, including its neighbor Ecuador, have sent aid but the assistance sent by Israel last week was the biggest and reflects the very close relations that have developed between the two countries in recent years.”

FULL ARTICLE



Help Make A Difference By Sharing These Articles On Facebook, Twitter And Elsewhere: