Japanese medic touched by bilingual ‘thank you’ note by quake-hit Turkish family

By Mehmet Akif Parlak

GAZIANTEP, Türkiye (AA) - A Japanese medic said he was touched by a thank you note written in Japanese and Turkish he received from a family in the earthquake-hit region of Türkiye.

Takeshi Ishihara, head of a Japanese medical team visiting Türkiye, told Anadolu that he received the note at a field hospital they had established in southeastern Gaziantep province's Oguzeli district.

The note had the word "thank you" written in both Turkish and Japanese.

It was signed by the children of the family, Akif, Bilal and Anim, and had drawings of butterfly, hearts and flowers.

"We are in close contact with the Oguzeli State Hospital. Since the hospital cannot operate at full capacity ... we treat both the injured and non-injured earthquake victims alike here," he said.

"It is possible to do surgeries here," he added, referring to the field hospital they established in the compound of a high school.

A total of 70 paramedics are serving at the hospital.

The Japanese medic said he had lived in Türkiye for many years and loved Turkish people.

"From the moment I came here, I felt the love of people for us. I have served in Türkiye for a long time. We came here to help, but we get help from the local people. They give us tea, food, they try to support us all the time,” he said.

“We came not for the patient-doctor relationship, but also for the human relationship. We will do our best as a team here."

Saying that he toured the quake area, he added: "I visited Islahiye and Nurdagi districts, I saw the situation there and I was very upset. We know that there are citizens there who are in a very difficult situation.”

“We are trying to reach out for this. It is not possible to prevent a natural disaster, but what we need to do from now on is to take the necessary measures," he added.

"We set up a tent upstairs and we live there. There is a family of earthquake victims. The mother and her three children came, they wrote us on a piece of paper in Japanese and Turkish saying 'thank you'. They showed us this. I was very touched. It's a spiritual thing. Actually, we came to give support, I was very touched when I received the note," he said.

Zelihe Sena Tasdelen, a Turkish dentist at the Oguzeli State Hospital, said the Japanese doctors were very hardworking.

"We really thank the Japanese doctors. They are devoted. They are very helpful and self-sacrificing. Even though they come from far away, they stand shoulder to shoulder with us and share our pain. Thank you very much. These people will not forget their sacrifice," she said.

* Writing by Emre Basaran