A contingent of erstwhile “Ottoman Scouts” from Lebanon has returned to Türkiye in the wake of the deadly earthquakes that hit the country on February 6.
Mahmoud Madi, leader of a 34-member contingent of the Muslim Scouts of Lebanon, said they reached Türkiye on February 11 and the team was deployed in Adana province.
The team, which comprises of 12 rescue personnel and 10 medics besides staff for logistics, shifted to Hatay province from there for search, rescue and logistics work.
“Soon after the news of the damage in Türkiye due to the twin earthquakes, my colleague Mr Wissam Mustafa El Hajjar contacted the Scouting and Guiding Federation of Türkiye and we started packing to come here,” Madi said.
The members of the Muslim Scouts of Lebanon worked alongside the Turkish Red Crescent and Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) besides the Scouting and Guiding Federation of Türkiye during the past week in the quake-affected areas.
“The situation was emotional, how people were receiving us … how they were looking after us,” said Madi via Fadi Iskandarani, an interpreter who flew from the UK to join the Muslim Scouts in the post-quake operations.
13 million affected
At least 41,156 people have been killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on February 6, affecting more than 13 million people, according to the latest official figures.
Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of fewer than 10 hours.
More than 249,000 search and rescue personnel are currently working in the field, according to AFAD.
Around 100 countries have offered assistance so far, with many having sent rescue teams.
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Ottoman Scouts
It was in 1912 when two Muslim brothers from then British India laid the foundation of Al Kashaaf al Utsmani, or Ottoman Scouts.
A year later, the leadership of the Ottoman Scouts “paid an official visit” to Istanbul, then the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Current day Lebanon was part of the state of the Ottomans those days.
“At that time, there were no borders, so people (from the Ottoman Scouts) came to Istanbul, trying to meet officials and explain to them their work in that part of the world, which is now called Lebanon,” El Hajjar told Anadolu Agency, showing the first logo of the Ottoman Scouts on his phone.
After World War I, it was turned into the Muslim Scouts of Lebanon. Fast forward to 2004, the Muslim Scouts of Lebanon formally established relations with the Scouting and Guiding Federation of Türkiye.
“We have held four national training camps with Turkish counterparts in Istanbul, Erzurum, Konya and Canakkale,” El Hajjar said, lauding the camaraderie between the two nations.
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