Elif Petek Kızıltepe, a 3rd-year student at Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, departed from Istanbul for the earthquake zone immediately after the earthquake occurred in her hometown Kahramanmaraş. Kızıltepe, who arrived in the disaster area with the AFAD team, provided assistance to earthquake victims both on the ground and in the hospital. Working alongside doctors in the hospital where her mother served as a nurse, Kızıltepe recounted her experiences after the earthquake.
“Being a medical student accelerated the process”
Kızıltepe stated that she could not get news from her family in the first hours of the earthquake and that they tried to reach Kahramanmaraş as soon as possible, but plane tickets were sold out.
Kızıltepe said: “After receiving the earthquake news around 04:30, we could not get clear news from our families with our friends from Kahramanmaraş. For this reason, we started looking for ways to quickly go to other earthquake zones and Maraş. Plane tickets were sold out. My friend Vahit, whom I had just met from the same class, helped a lot by providing information about volunteer planes going to the region. We waited at the airport for about 8 hours to get on a plane. When I said I was a medical faculty student, they tried to help faster. At the end of the eighth hour, we managed to board the plane.”
“Air traffic had formed due to the earthquake, we could not land for a long time”
Kızıltaş stated that a flight from Istanbul to Kahramanmaraş normally takes about 1.5 hours, but due to the air traffic after the earthquake, they could not land for a long time; “Due to the flight density after the earthquake, air traffic had formed, and since there was no space to land on the runway due to congestion, we had to wait in the air for a while. Later, due to a fuel problem, we first landed in Elazığ and then were able to come to Kahramanmaraş. It was around two in the morning when we arrived. I had come with an AFAD volunteers' plane. That night we stayed at the AFAD General Headquarters, and around 7-8 in the morning, a group gathered again, and they tried to arrange a car for us to go to the rubble site. We then went to the rubble areas, but since we did not have the necessary tools for medical intervention, and because we knew the city well, we tried to find a place where we could help more by hitchhiking.”
“We provided first aid to patients who could not reach the hospital, with the advice of my professors”
Kızıltepe stated that in the following days, as medical faculty students, they participated in first aid activities in various hospitals and continued first aid and assistance activities in the earthquake region. Kızıltepe said: “On the first day, we went to the Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality Water and Sewerage Administration General Directorate (KASKİ). There were two patients here; one had minor injuries on their hands, and the other was a child with a head trauma. For the treatment of this patient, I consulted with my professor Ayhan from Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, sent photos of the patient, and formed a group of doctors for treatment planning. After receiving suggestions from various doctors, we tried to procure the medicines. We started his treatment and then referred him to a suitable hospital.”
“They ensured communication between the patient and the healthcare team arriving from abroad for support”
Kızıltepe stated that after providing first aid in various regions, they reached hospitals and wanted to provide support, noting that while intervening with patients, they also facilitated communication between the healthcare teams arriving from abroad and the patients and staff.
Kızıltepe said: “We went to Yörük Selim State Hospital, where my mother works as a nurse, to find out if they needed us. There wasn't much need for medical help in the hospitals because there were many foreign medical teams. However, after consulting with the hospital management, they asked us to stay to provide support. Ms. Öznur, a Cardiovascular Surgery Specialist responsible for coordination at the hospital, requested our assistance. For about 4-5 days, we tried to help Israeli soldiers communicate with patients and doctors. As of yesterday morning, the Israeli team returned to their country, and we continue to support the hospital.” She conveyed her experiences after the earthquake.