Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Şahin examined the work in the largest field hospital established in Turkey by the Japanese team in Gaziantep's Oğuzeli district after the earthquake.
Visiting the field hospital where services such as surgery, analysis and x-rays are provided with a Japanese team of 14 people, 70 of whom are physicians, President Şahin received information about the hospital from Chief Physician Takeshi Ishihara, the head of the delegation from Japan.
President Şahin, in his speech here, stated that they experienced the biggest disaster in the history of the world earthquake and said, “We have worked with Japan for a resilient city before. We talked about what to do before, during and after the earthquake. This theoretical work has been a great roadmap for us to heal the wounds of this great disaster today.”
Şahin, who stated that he visited many field hospitals and saw such a detailed and well thought out hospital for the first time, continued with the following explanations:
“This is the first time I have seen such a successful hospital. The Japanese government is also saying that it is the first time they have built such a large one here. In a world where goodness and compassion rise, fault lines can be broken, but the line of kindness, the line of mercy, the line of love will heal us very quickly and together we will heal the wounds. This hospital you see is 5 acres of closed area. The hospital has everything a patient needs. From the delivery room to the laboratory, we have a large intensive care unit behind us. There is all the technical infrastructure and human capital without the need to go to any full-fledged hospital. The most important feature of Japan is the manpower trained in specialization. They are here today with all their trained manpower. They are here not only with their technology and machines, but also with their doctors and their specialized team.”
Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiro Suzuki, who visited the earthquake areas, said in a statement at the field hospital:
“Today, I was able to visit Gaziantep, which was affected by the earthquake, with a two-day travel group. I was able to personally see the great damage. But at the same time, I was able to personally confirm that the restructuring process has passed. Two weeks later, on March 11, in Japan, it will be the 12th anniversary of the great Japan earthquake. There was a lot of loss of life at that time, and in winter people were exposed to severe cold. Now, very difficult situations in Japan and Turkey are broadcast every day as news. The Japanese are watching this and thinking what can I do, what should I do. This time, we did it with the feeling of solidarity and togetherness coming from the heart in our hospital. As Japan, we will continue our cooperation and aid efforts in this way.”