8,000 IRCS Volunteers to Serve Arbaeen Pilgrims in Iraq
Pir-Hossein Koulivand made the remark in a ceremony held at the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini (RA) south of Tehran on Saturday to see off the volunteers who began their trip to Iraq.
He noted that 70,000 people will also provide relief services in Iran, from the eastern borders to the western borders.
The ceremony was attended by a group of Red Crescent officials and included a parade of rescue groups, ambulances and service vehicles.
Koulivand highlighted the provision of necessary equipment to serve the Arbaeen pilgrims and said enough medicine and equipment, an ambulance, a command vehicle, a rescue vehicle, and a logistics vehicle have been prepared.
He said promoting the culture of self-sacrifice, voluntary service and public education are among our main duties of the volunteers.
It is necessary for the pilgrims and those running Moukebs (service stations) to be trained on helping themselves and others, saying, “We must teach all pilgrims so that they can take care of themselves and help others along the way. The role of the Red Crescent in creating culture and health education is important, and the necessity of this issue is well known in Arbaeen.”
Emphasizing that attending Arbaeen for the Red Crescent volunteers is not just a relief operation, he said that in addition to a relief and health operations, it is a spiritual pilgrimage, an international exercise and maneuver that is carried out with the intention of being close to God and serving the pilgrims of Imam Hussein (AS).
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Arbaeen is a global covenant with the oppressed and the right-seeking message of Imam Hussein (AS) and the manifestation of love, justice, truth and self-sacrifice, he said. “That is the same path that our rescuers and colleagues have chosen.”
Arbaeen is a religious event observed by Shia Muslims on the fortieth day after the Day of Ashura, commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the third Shia imam.
It is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world, with millions of Shia Muslims, as well as many Sunnis and followers of other religions, walking to Karbala from various cities in Iraq and neighboring countries. This year, the day of Arbaeen will fall on August 14.
More than 4 million pilgrims from Iran are expected to take part in the 2025 Arbaeen procession.
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