SW News: In what could be seen as a towering example of Christian charity, Armenia sent 28 rescue workers and technical equipment to its arch-rival Turkey to help in the search-and-rescue efforts in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake.
The rescue workers and technical equipment crossed over into Turkey through the Margara Bridge located on the border. It was for the first time in three decades that Armenian vehicles were crossing the frontier after it was sealed off following hostilities between Christian-dominated Armenia and Muslim-majority Turkey.
Serdar Kilic, Turkey’s special envoy for talks with Armenia said on Twitter that “In addition to a team of 28 rescuers and technical equipment sent immediately after the earthquake, 5 truckloads of 100 tons of food, medicine, water and other emergency aid packages from the Armenian people left for Adyyaman, passing through the Alican border gate this morning.”
 The delegate also thanked Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan and Deputy Parliament Speaker, Special Representative for negotiations with Turkey Ruben Rubinyan for their efforts to dispatch humanitarian aid to Turkey in this crucial hour.
“I will always remember the generous aid sent by the people of Armenia to help alleviate the sufferings of our people in the earthquake-stricken region in Turkey,” he said.
Armenia has always nursed a grudge against Turkey for the role of its Ottoman dynasty in triggering the infamous Armenian genocide of 1915 in which more than a million Armenian Christians were systematically killed. To make matters worse, Turkey supports Azerbaijan which is fighting separatists in the Armenian-controlled region of Nagorno Karabakh, who are seeking union with Armenia.
Meanwhile, rescue workers in Turkey and Syria are still retrieving bodies and pulling out survivors from underneath the rubble in the quake-hit areas. The survivors were lucky enough to remain alive after more than 100 hours of the tragedy in the biting cold. Meanwhile, the death toll has crossed 24,000 in both countries. This was confirmed by Turkish officials and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Separately, UN assistance arrived in the rebel-controlled areas of Syria on Thursday. There are reports that tens of thousands of people in both countries are still unaccounted for.