Azerbaijani students, lecturers refuse to leave Türkiye’s quake-hit Kahramanmaras

By Mehmet Solmaz

KAHRAMANMARAS, Türkiye (AA) - Sutcu Imam University in Kahramanmaras, the city at the epicenter of last week’s powerful earthquakes that killed thousands, has been hosting dozens of Azerbaijani students and lecturers.

Elkhan Gurbanli is one of them. He left Azerbaijan for his graduate program in 2015 and later completed his master’s degree, which was followed by a doctorate program. Having spent eight years in the Anatolian city, he said his connection to it has steadily been growing since his first day there.

Following the Feb. 6 earthquakes, the Azerbaijani government started an evacuation process for their nationals in the city. Gurbanli and dozens of others were put on buses to the capital Ankara, where they would be departing for Azerbaijan.

“When we reached Ankara, something pulled me back, like ‘you can’t go, you’ve got to stay here.’ And these pullback feelings have two reasons. First, we’re two different states but one nation. Türkiye is the last fortress of Turkishness. We’ve got to unite in every pain and struggle together and fight together,” Gurbanli said, adding his second reason was that he had been living in Kahramanmaras for the past eight years.

“I owe most of my achievements to this city and its people, so I felt I had to be here and I returned back from Ankara.”

Gurbanli said his family was extremely worried about him. He said he took a selfie in Ankara and sent it to his family and kept his return to Kahramanmaras secret for several days.

- From giving lectures to cooking meals for hundreds of quake victims

Unsure about how to help the people of Kahramanmaras, he first thought of using his English skills and serving as an interpreter for foreign rescue and aid teams.

But he crossed paths with a group looking for a cook who would be responsible for preparing meals for hundreds of quake victims staying in tents erected outside the university campus.

Prior to his academic career, Gurbanli had a lengthy experience cooking for the masses. After seeing an aid initiative by the Black Stockings fan group of the Fenerbahce football club, Gurbanli told them he was the cook they had been looking for. In a truck converted into a kitchen, he now prepares meals in massive pots for hundreds of people affected by the quakes.

- 'I could not leave the people I see as my family'

Hemran Emirli has also spent long years in Kahramanmaras. He completed his entire higher education at Sutcu Imam University and is now a lecturer.

“I just didn’t feel right about leaving the place that has been looking after me,” Emirli said while getting ready to distribute the dinner meal for those lining up outside the truck.

Emirli and Gurbanli are among 15 Azerbaijani students and lecturers who are spending their days helping quake victims in various ways. While some are distributing aid in the center, others are providing hot meals for those in tents.

- Azerbaijan deploys 745 rescuers, medical personnel

Azerbaijan has established the first of two field hospitals in the Kahramanmaras region.

“Our hospital has four departments. After admission and initial examination, the patient is sent to the relevant department,” Gurban Eyvazov, the head of the 10-bed facility, told Anadolu.

The hospital has a laboratory as well as a local anesthesia and surgery department, he said. Azerbaijan will build another hospital which will have separate departments for orthopedics, pediatrics and general surgery.

According to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, at least 745 rescuers and medical personnel have been working in Kahramanmaras since Feb. 6.

Azerbaijani emergency staff have so far rescued 53 people alive and recovered nearly 700 bodies according to the country's Emergency Situations Ministry.