Administrator Samantha Power’s Remarks Welcoming Home USAID's Urban Search and Rescue Team

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: So our most important task this evening – we have two, two really important tasks – the first is to just say, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

I have the privilege of running USAID and being the Administrator of this important Agency. And I've had this job for more than a year and a half, or actually now coming on two years, and that means I've worked with you all twice. First, when the earthquake hit Haiti in the late summer of 2021 and now on this occasion. And I really think it's one of the greatest privileges I've had professionally in my career, is to get to work with men and women like you who answer the call in this way. It's awe-inspiring. Thank you. 

My second job is to get you home to your families as quickly as possible and not say too much by way of thanks. But, I did just find it completely remarkable – not surprising, given what I know of your work and everything you've done all around the world – but what happened on the way there. 

What you did after taking 16 hours of flights, getting all your equipment together, figuring out where you were going, saying goodbye to your families, getting your houses in order, and all of that – when you got to the other side, despite all of that, and all of the stress inherent in all of that, and all of the stress inherent in responding to an earthquake in the incredibly courageous way you all do, that when you hit the ground, you got going immediately. And put – as always – the safety and the welfare of the people who are out there in impossibly difficult conditions, in freezing temperatures, above your own human need for rest, and you served. You served this country, our country so well. And, as we'll soon hear from the Ambassador, you served in such a great act of solidarity and friendship with the Turkish people. And again, for that we are unbelievably grateful. 

As Secretary Blinken, I know, had the chance to say to you in sending you off to come home and to be reunited with your families, our work with the Turkish people and the people of Syria is only just beginning. You know better than anybody, having been there in those incredibly difficult conditions, just what lies ahead. In addition to the more than 46,000 people who have already tragically been killed in this earthquake, and the tens of millions of people affected, either directly or indirectly, the road to recovery is going to be long. But by being there first, by being there early, you show the truth in our commitment to our friends in Türkiye and Syria, which is that we will be there. We will be there through thick and thin. And again, you did it when it was the hardest to do. And I'm so very grateful, and I know President Biden is eternally grateful. 

So your beds await. Your children, bless you for having these incredible role models as parents, and for putting up with their departures. I know it isn't easy. But I really hope that you all get to squeeze each other tight. We're all really lucky to be reunited with our families. 

We know also from today's news in Türkiye, that the risks that you undertook are not trivial. There was another earthquake today, another loss of life. So, again, nothing that is this valuable is easy. And yet, you do it time and again when the call comes. So I hope not to have to call you again while I get to serve as USAID Administrator, but I couldn't be prouder to be part of your team. And so, thank you. 

With that, let me turn it over to Ambassador Mercan, who himself has been a tireless and incredibly effective Ambassador for Türkiye – at the worst possible time – but they couldn't have somebody in the role that has done more to galvanize American compassion and solidarity than the Ambassador. Ambassador, thank you for being with us tonight and for joining me in paying tribute to these American heroes. Thank you so much.