Gage: Our aid to Turkey in retaliation supporting Kosovo in the past

Kosovo joined rescue efforts following last week's double earthquakes in southern Turkey as <x0-time” for Ankara's support for Pristina in the past, the Kosovo Research-Salvation Agency said Wednesday.

Ilir Gadha, secretary of the Kosovo Research and Salvation Association, spoke with “Anadolu” at Hatay Airport before heading to Kosovo with his six-member group after completing their “successful” in the earthquake area, where they arrived on February 9th.

Gagha said his team had helped rescue and that Tuesday they saved a 3-year-old girl's life by giving her first aid.

We felt terrible when we saw what happened. That's why we had to come and make our contribution. Turkey in the past has greatly helped my country, Kosovo. And this is our way of repaying (what) we consider as a debt”, he said. And fortunately, we successfully completed the “mission.

It is sad to see the whole town destroyed”, Gaja said, adding that the families of the victims under the ruins of destroyed buildings had asked them to take the bodies of their deceased relatives.

Noting that his team had unearthed more than 20 bodies and had stopped counting at a certain moment, he said they had unearthed nine lifeless bodies only Tuesday.

It was sad to see, for example, in a sleeping bag, a mother and father covering two children, and the four were dead from the earthquake. It was a terrible story”
We took out a man's son and daughter, and when we handed them over to his father, he cried. And I still can't forget the way she was crying”.

In the 3-year rescue, Gagha said the girl was pulled out of another team and, allegedly dead, left on the sidewalk with other corpses. Afterwards, one of the Turkish soldiers opened the sack where her body was put to see the baby and found that the baby had tears in its eyes, he said.

“We gave CPR for about 25 to 30 minutes until the Turkish ambulance arrived. There were some young girls who were panicking when they saw a small child”, he said.

And we were strong, doing this procedure all the time until we put him in an ambulance. And then we were very emotional about that feels”.
Then, when it was said that she was saved, all embraced and kissed, she confessed to Gaius. Everyone was very happy. So it's a feeling we can't explain. We are so proud to be able to represent our country and help Turkey”

He also said that even the extraction of lifeless bodies gave them some liberation, as people “must rest their souls”.