BEIJING: Guo Guoying, 30, a woman engaged in education and training work in Anshun, Guizhou province, has been busy online for days to launch a WeChat group — Turkish Rescue Translation — which went live on Feb 7. She also formed the Love Aid translation team to help Turkiye’s quake-relief efforts.
To help further, Zhang Huiying, who works in Turkiye, joined the on-site rescue. Inspired by Guo’s efforts, she added her WeChat to the volunteer group. They then cooperated to offer communication assistance and played an active role in the rescue efforts with their communication bridge for Chinese rescue teams in Turkiye.
“Seizing a minute may save a life,” Zhang said.
On Feb 6, following the catastrophic earthquakes that struck Turkiye and brought heavy casualties and destruction, many Chinese rescuers rushed to participate in the quake relief efforts. However, communication in an unfamiliar environment has become a major problem, affecting the progress of the rescue.
“What sparked this idea is that a friend of mine on a rescue team asked me to introduce a translator live in Turkiye. From then on, I began to keep an eye on this matter, since I am engaged in language training and had made the acquaintance of some international students and foreign friends,” Guo said.
“I started a group chat and more than 100 volunteers joined within days. Some of them are native Turks; others are Chinese living in Turkiye. But they all can basically communicate fluently in Chinese, English and Turkish. Then I named the group Chinese Love Aid Translation.”
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
