Defense Ministry Team Visits the Van District in Eastern Turkey
(Communicated by Josh Hantman, International Media Advisor, MOD
dover@mod.gov.il )

Yesterday (Monday), 13.2.12, a Defense Ministry team visited the Van
district in Turkey. The team was led by Dudu Chen, head of the Emergency
Preparedness Department, and Marcel Aviv, Coordinator of the Humanitarian
Aid mission for the earthquake in Turkey. Three months ago a catastrophic
earthquake hit the region; hundreds of people died and thousands of others
lost their homes.

Local university rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Yozar and district Vice-Governor
Ahmet Kazankyeh conducted the tour for the Israeli delegation. The latter
spoke about the aid from the Israeli Defense Ministry: “After the harsh
quake that occurred here, you came, you the Israelis, with a lot of material
and a lot of willingness to help. And for this I thank you very much, from
the bottom of my heart.” He added “You are our true friends, and the proof
is what we see here. Only true friends can help so quickly and with such
concern for their partners.”

During the tour, Prof. Dr. Yozar said that more than 800 students will now
be able to inhabit the structures provided by the Defense Ministry to the
locals after the earthquake. “Thanks to these structures we will be able to
put life back on track here. We will finally be able to re-house the
families and students that left right after the disaster.”

After the structures' dedication ceremony, the Turkish and Israeli
representatives placed a joint sign at the site. At the press conference
which followed, Dudu Chen averred that: "When the disaster was brought to
our attention we knew that the Defense Ministry had the ability and
experience to provide fast and efficient service to any place in the world.
We transported, via air and sea, 50 mobile structures and 80 housing
structures. We were overjoyed to see that in the next few days they will
all begin serving the local community. We predict that we will complete
the building of all the structures by the middle of next month."