On Wednesday, a reception was held in the Sarajevo City Hallfor rescuers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) who participated in search and rescue operations for survivors in the regions devastated by the earthquake in the south of Turkey.
At the ceremony, the members of the mountain rescue services of the Federation of BiH (FBiH), the Canton Sarajevo (CS), the Municipality of Novi Grad, and the members of the Specialized Rescue Unit (USAR team) at the Federal Administration of Civil Protection (FUCZ) were presented with certificates of appreciation, and individually each of the rescuers was symbolically presented with the Gold Medal of the City of Sarajevo.
A special day
The mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karic, thanked all the rescuers, saying that “today is a special day when we are reminded again and again how many great people we have”.
”The one who saves one human life, as if he saved the whole world. We will never forget your gesture, because you brightened our face for the umpteenth time both in Turkey and in the whole world. Thank you for all you have done. You have shown that we must all pay more attention to the mountain rescue services on the territory of the entire city and the CS, because hard times reveal real heroes,” said the mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karic.
She pointed out that while BiH rescuers were in the earthquake-ravaged areas of Turkey, in those moments young Sarajevo citizens collected money to help their peers in Turkey. She then presented the Gold Medal of the City of Sarajevo to a 12-year-old boy, Benjamin Mehanovic, who was written about by numerous media, and who sold tea on the street and collected money to help earthquake victims.
Acting Prime Minister of the CS Government, Darja Softic-Kadenic also thanked BiH rescuers for their engagement and everything they did during their stay in Turkey.