Indian Army’s medical team says people in Turkey got emotional while bidding goodbye

Tears in eyes, warm affection and a deep sense of gratitude — this is how emotionally moved Turkish citizens bid farewell to a medical team of the Indian Army when they were departing from Turkey after rendering humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the quake-ravaged country.

The 99-member self-contained team that successfully set up and ran a fully equipped 30-bedded field hospital in Iskenderun, Hatay Province, has returned to India to a hero’s welcome.

Some of the team members shared their experiences and challenges, and spoke of the warmth and cooperation they received from Turkish people, despite “a language barrier.”

“They (Turkish citizens) were crying when we were leaving. It was a very emotional moment for us as well. They hugged us to say thank you, it was a humbling experience,” said a member of the team, on the condition of anonymity.

“What we saw there was painful, scenes of devastation and destruction left by the massive earthquake and its powerful aftershock on February 6,” he said. The medical team of 60 Para Field Hospital provided assistance to quake-affected people in Turkey from February 7-19.

Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Tuesday said the force is proud of its medical team for rendering humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to quake-hit Turkey, and asserted that the mobilisation of a field hospital in short time indicates the team’s excellent operational preparedness.

He said this after interacting with members of the medical team here.

The field hospital treated about 3,600 people, conducted numerous major and minor surgeries, including one amputated and life-saving surgery, he said. “The hospital was mobilised at a short notice of six hours, and they moved to Turkey, and they landed there at Adana airfield on February 8 and within a short period of time, the Indian Army medical team established a 30-bed field hospital at Iskenderun in Hatay region,” Gen Pande said.

“It was the timely decision and excellent inter-agency coordination among all stakeholders, due to which they were among the first few medical teams to reach Turkey,” he said. India launched ‘Operation Dost’ to extend assistance to Turkey as well as Syria after various parts of the two countries were hit by a devastating earthquake on February 6 that has killed over 30,000 people.

Another member of the medical team said many Turkish people just came to “see and meet us” knowing an assistance team had arrived from India.

“One man had even travelled a very long distance by road to reach the field hospital that was set up in a school, and he told us that he had come just to meet people from ‘Hindistan’ (India),” the team member recalled.

Turkish people refer to India as ‘Hindistan’, he said with a smile.

Asked how they managed to tide over the language barrier, the medical team member said “there were interpreters to aid us”.

“English language teachers also helped us in interacting with Turkish citizens, and vice versa,” he said.

Army Chief Gen Pande on Tuesday also said the medical team is extremely appreciative of the assistance and cooperation extended to them by Turkish citizens.