Islamic Community Millî Görüş (IGMG) organized their annual iftar program in London once again, the event which was held this week.
Turkey’s Ambassador to London Osman Koray Ertaş, İGMG Chairman Kemal Ergün, Camden Mayor Nasim Ali, Speakers for Hackney Council Humaira Garasia, as well as many guests, attended the iftar event hosted by ICMG UK President Ubeyde Bilaloğlu.
Bilaloğlu, in his speech stated that the month of Ramadan is a month of happiness and celebration, but this year Ramadan was bittersweet due to the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş that occurred on February 6th.
“Unfortunately, this year, we are saddened by one of the biggest earthquakes in the history of the world in Turkey and Syria, where tens of thousands of people lost their lives. Hundreds and thousands of people were injured. Millions of people were sadly homeless and displaced.” he said.
Bilaloğlu also spoke of the work carried out by the Hasene Humanitarian Aid UK: “Our organization has raised over 23 million euros in total. We don’t just send money or goods. We have logistics warehouses in all affected cities and from there we distribute all your assistance in a coordinated and effective manner. We also have mobile clinics. We have a mobile bakery and we have budgeted over 10m euros to build container villages for the homeless.”
Thanking everyone who attended he said “It is also a great honor to live in a country that is so tolerant of different religions, different nationalities and cultures.”
Newly appointed Turkish Ambassador to London, Ertaş said “It is not easy to experience Ramadan abroad. It is not for everyone to keep the beautiful atmosphere in our country alive here. Therefore, we express our gratitude to our associations here. It is good that you exist and it is good that you give us these beautiful days with nights like this.” He also thanked for the aid provided to the region after the earthquakes in Turkey.