New Delhi: During its 2-week tenure in Hatay region the medical team of the Indian Army treated close to 4,000 people and carried out many life-saving surgeries. The empathy that the Indian govt, rescue teams and common Indians have shown for Turkey in the hour of need has left an unparalleled impact in the hearts of the Turkish people.
‘Operation Dost’ initiated by the Indian Army to help quake-affected people in Turkey became a huge success with a special bond developing between the victims and the rescuers. So the parting was filled with sadness and despair as people in the quake-hit regions are still living with fear.
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 after rendering humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
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 here to a hero’s welcome.
Among those who returned were members of the NDRF team also who were involved in rescue work. They pulled out many a people from the rubbles of the earth-quake hit areas as ‘Operation Dost’ became a fond name among the people of Turkey.
Among them was Odisha’s Vivekananda Dehuri. Narrating his experience, Vivekananda recounted the horror the people of Turkey had to go through.
“We received order from Army headquarters February 7 to move to Turkey immediately for the rescue operation. We flew with the required medicines and 30 beds within eight hours. It was heart-wrenching to see the kind of disaster there. We took shelter in a partially-collapsed school and started the rescue operation immediately,” Vivekananda said Wednesday.
The Odia jawan was quick to point out that initially people had apprehensions of coming to the Indian team for help. “However, that soon turned into trust as we worked round the clock,” Vivekananda informed. “Initially we used to attend to 40-50 people daily, but that soon increased to 800-900 per day as word about our work spread,” he added.
Other members of the medical team 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 medical team.
The medical team of 60 Para Field Hospital provided assistance to quake-affected people in Turkey from February 7-19. The field hospital treated about 3,600 people, conducted numerous major and minor surgeries, including one amputated and life-saving surgery,” informed General Maonj Pandey.
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 February 6 that has killed over 40,000 people.
“They referred to us as ‘Hindistan’ in most cases,” another team member remembered with fond affection.
