The Scot leading earthquake relief work in Turkey – BBC News
- By David Knox
- BBC Scotland Selkirk
Image source, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Erlend Linklater (right) at one of the many temporary camps set up in Antakya
The Scot leading the UK’s humanitarian effort in devastated southern Turkey believes, after four months, the crisis is finally starting to ease.
Selkirk’s Erlend Linklater oversaw the deployment of UK rescue teams in the hours after February’s earthquakes.
The 48-year-old also helped establish a field hospital in the flattened Gaziantep district.
Erlend said: “Progress has been slow, but I would now say there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Almost 60,000 people died across southern Turkey and northern Syria when two huge earthquakes struck during 6 February.
Many more were injured and displaced as thousands of buildings either totally or partially collapsed.
Image source, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
White Helmets rescue teams spent many weeks in northern Syria and southern Turkey
Erlend has been in Turkey for four years working as a humanitarian adviser with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) as about 3.7 million refugees fled from the Syrian civil war.
Despite being previously based in some of the world’s most war-torn countries, such as Afghanistan, Angola and southern Sudan, he was still shocked by the scale of death and damage.
“If you work in conflict areas, you are used to seeing destroyed buildings, but if they are near the front line then often the civilian population has been evacuated,” he said.
“The scary thing about the earthquake is there was no warning and it happened at four o’clock in the morning when most people were asleep, meaning every collapsed building you look at is a mass graveyard.
“I’ve worked for a number of years in live conflicts with plenty of shooting and bombing going on, but in terms of the impact emotionally, this is one of the hardest things I’ve had to work on.”
Image source, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Erlend with UK ambassador Jill Morris and the UK’s UN representative Barbara Woodward in Hatay
The Scot has remained at the forefront of the UK government’s disaster relief effort since the earthquakes struck.
He initially oversaw the deployment of 77 search and rescue experts, and in the days after the deathly tremors, helped co-ordinate a joint field hospital for the FCDO and the Ministry of Defence in Gaziantep.
More than 20,000 patients have since been treated at the temporary medical base.
Erlend has also been involved in making sure UK government aid, worth a total of £43m, reaches the worst-affected communities.
He said: “I don’t think there is a person in the affected areas who will not know somebody who has died. So many people are grieving.
“Some of the worst affected places like Hatay were places I knew well, visited frequently, and was fond of, which has compounded it and made it hit home even harder.”
Image source, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
The field hospital in Gaziantep has treated more than 20,000 patients since it was set up by Erlend
Although about 2.4 million people are still living in camps and other temporary sites, Erlend believes that, after four months, noticeable progress is now being made.
He added: “We are continuing to provide shelter, water sanitation and hygiene and doing everything we can to minimise the spread of disease.
“I am based in Ankara, but every time I go down I see progress.
“Although there is still a long way to go, I can say for the first time in more than four months that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
