Association of Medical Doctors of ASIA, founded in 1984, Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC since 1995

On 17 February, AMDA’s relief team revisited the mountainous Aksu village in Adiyaman, a day after the team assessed the damage due to landslides caused by the quakes. This time, the team brought relief items for the villagers which they requested.

Before leaving for the village, the team purchased winter boots in Elazığ where they had stayed. The shoe shop clerk said many shoes were brought to different towns from the store after the quake struck. “When I went to deliver shoes to Malatya, the second quake hit five minutes after we got out of the car,” the clerk said. “Our car got flattened under the collapsed building, so our lives were saved by the skin of our teeth.” 

The clerk thanked AMDA for coming all the way to extend a helping hand.

That day at the village, AMDA’s aid workers donated the winter boots along with blankets and wet tissues to 18 households that were still remaining. Located two-and-half-hours’ drive from Elazığ, the mountainous community is known for farming tabacco leaves. The blankets were well received by the residents who had to put up with cold winter nights.

Besides, an AMDA doctor visited each tent to check the health condition of the villagers, and saw people with leg injuries, throat pain, and chapped skin. Since there were many women with hypertension, an AMDA nurse measured their blood pressure to make sure they knew their readings. After hearing the results, most of them seemed relieved.

According to village women, they said they needed to get water from the outskirts of the village because the tap at home was not working well since the quakes struck. “Coupled with harsh winter weather, getting water from elsewhere makes it even harder to cope,” they told the nurse.

After that, the villagers were kind enough to invite the team for a cup of tea. An AMDA coordinator of Turkish origin said: “Turkish people are so kind that they always serve a cup of tea whenever there is a guest. This never changes even at difficult times like this. Some of these people have lost their close ones, but they still treat guests in this way. They are just happy with the fact that people came all the way from Japan to offer help. This makes them smile. Just having a cup of tea with them can encourage them.”