DDM Delegates to Visit Earthquake Site in Iran

1/9/2004

As International humanitarian support and aid for Bam continue to flow in after the devastating earthquake on December 26, 2003, the Dharma Drum Mountain Social Welfare and Charity Foundation, acting on the instructions of Master Sheng Yen, has donated US$100,000 towards disaster relief for the region, and is dispatching delegates to Bam to learn more about the situation.

The four-person experts team, including Chang Zhi Fa Shi, and Mr. Hsieh, Suiyong, deputy secretary-general of DDM foundation, will leave for Bam on January 9, and are expected to arrive in Tehran on the morning of January 10. 

Mr Hsieh said that the main purpose of this trip is to express care for the Islamic world on behalf of Master Sheng Yen in an effort to promote peace; and to enter the disaster site to gain better understanding of the kinds of aid needed. In addition, DDM also wishes to strengthen its global disaster relief experience with this visit.

Upon arrival, the DDM delegation will visit with His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Mohammadi Araghi, president of the Islamic Culture and Relationship Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Red Crescent of the Muslim Republic of Iran; before traveling to Bam to visit the devastated earthquake site, its hospitals and orphanages. Due to strict laws and restrictions in Iran, this trip was made possible by the arrangements and assistance offered by the regional religious leaders, United Nations and the World Council of Religious Leaders. An Iranian External Affairs diplomat and a representative from the Office of His Excellency Ayatollah Araghi will escort and accompany the DDM delegation to the earthquake site to visit the victims. The freezing cold temperatures and uncertainties of the situation would make this an arduous trip for the delegation.