President al-Assad visits Umawyeen Electricity Station

President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday visited the Umawyeen Electricity Station at Tishreen Park in Damascus and congratulated its staff and all workers of Syria on the occasion of the Workers' Day. During this visit, President al-Assad said that the values of work are associated with the meanings of dedication, building, production, strength and good, all of which are embodied in Syria's workers who always participated in bolstering points of strength and surpassing weaknesses in order to build a proud, powerful Syria. President al-Assad said that Syria's workers proved during the war which has been targeting the country for over two years that they will always remain one of the elements of Syria's strength, and not the other way around, asserting that the attempts to target the infrastructure which was built with Syrian hands will not dissuade workers from continuing to carry out their duties, despite the fact that hundreds of them were martyred at the hands of terrorists. President al-Assad pointed out that one of the most important groups among workers are electricity workers and services sectors workers who exerted their best efforts to keep these sectors working even if that meant risking their lives, which is something all Syrians appreciate particularly since the terrorists and their backers sought to drown Syria in darkness, both on the intellectual and social level and on the level of depriving citizens from basic services, mainly electricity. His Excellency said that Syria's workers stood up against the terrorists' attempts and maintained the availability of services, noting that this is one of the components of the steadfastness of the country in the face of the war targeting it and its citizens. President al-Assad toured the station and was briefed by its supervisors on the nature of their work and services they provide. He lauded the great efforts they are exerting, particularly their efforts to restore electricity as soon as possible in areas witnessing exceptional security conditions despite that terrorists target them and that there have been martyrs among the workers' ranks. For their part, workers at the station thanked President al-Assad for this gesture on their day, affirming that the difficulties they face will not dissuade them from carrying out their national duty and help preserve the electricity infrastructure which is a necessity for every citizen. In a statement to journalists after the visit, Electricity Minister Imad Khamis said that this visit shows President al-Assad's constant concern and care for the working class, and that it should motivate workers and make them more determined to work hard. Khamis noted that the electricity sector is one of the sectors that were targeted the most by terrorists, as many workers in this sector were martyred while repairing and maintaining electricity grids, adding that workshops are working around the clock to restore the electric grid to its normal state. The Minister said that Workers Day symbolizes the solidarity and unity of the working class and its victories and continuing achievements. For his part, the engineer in charge of relay stations in Damascus city, Ayman Qudmani, said that President al-Assad's visit on Workers' Day expresses his affection and care for the people of Syria in general and the working class in particular, asserting that workers in the electricity sector are shouldering big responsibilities and support the Armed Forces in defending the country. In turn, technical assistant at the station Ahmad Rateb al-Afaghani said that electricity workers will continue to maintain the electric grid and fix all malfunctions and outages despite the threat posed by terrorist groups, while station worker Issam Hasanen said that Syria's workers will protect and the achievements and gains they acquired and will work harder to repair the damages caused by terrorists to public establishments.