Belgian field hospital medics moved by bravery of Turkish quake survivors

By Selen Temizer

BRUSSELS (AA) – The bravery and resilience of survivors has left an indelible mark on doctors returning to Belgium after aid missions in quake-hit Türkiye.

“Despite their suffering, there were such positive people among them,” said Sevilay Altintas, a Belgian-Turkish oncologist.

“They thanked us, brought us gifts … they were in pain but were still thankful.”

Altintas and her colleagues tended to between 100 and 150 patients every day at a Belgian field hospital in Kirikhan, a district in Hatay, one of the 11 provinces ravaged by the Feb. 6 twin quakes that have claimed over 44,300 lives in southern Türkiye.

“When we said ‘it’s going to hurt a little,’ there were fathers and mothers who replied: ‘Is this pain? I buried three of my children last week,’” she told Anadolu.

“I left half of my heart there. It is my homeland, after all,” she added.

Altintas recalled the panic and fear after a fresh magnitude 6.4 tremor rocked Hatay on Feb. 20.

“The number of patients increased … (but) there were no major cases that night,” she said.

“People were terrified because the shaking was so powerful and there were many aftershocks.”

She said the devastation and loss of life has left survivors with serious trauma and psychological issues.

However, the birth of babies at the hospital was “a glimmer of hope for us and for the patients,” said Altintas.

Bugra Konuralp Donmez, another doctor part of the Belgian team, said he lost two cousins in the 1999 earthquake in Türkiye.

“That’s why I wanted to go there. I could not help back then. Now I’m a doctor and I wanted to go,” he said.

Donmez said the team worked hard to take care of patients “under difficult conditions,” particularly as aftershocks continued.

Pierre van der Rest, a Belgian doctor, lauded the courage shown by people in the affected areas.

“We were only a drop in the ocean but wanted to help everyone,” he said.

On the overall situation in terms of health services, he added: “It’s normal to have problems in the healthcare system in such circumstances. It’s expected.”

* Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara