English Speaking Emergency Phone number

[janie]

Hello everyone,

We have a petition running where we are asking the Turkish Government to supply an emergency telephone number with an English speaking operator, to enable non-Turkish speaking Tourists and Residents alike to make themselves understood when requiring assistance from the Police, Ambulance or Fire services.

You may well have seen us at the markets or in restaurants and bars, armed with clip boards and pens getting you to sign, if you haven't then please sign the online petition if you think this is a good idea.  You will find a link at the bottom of this message. 

The reason we are asking for this is that with increasing regularity we hear of people calling the Police in particular and having the phone put down on them when the operator cannot understand the caller.  This is very frustrating and time consuming in what could be a life or death situation.

We are asking for one number for all services similar to the 999 system in the UK with an operator who can speak and understand English.

Please sign!!

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-turkish-government-to-set-up-an-emergency-services-phone-line-with-english-speaking-operators?utm_campaign=friend_inviter_modal&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition


Just paste this in your browser and you will be taken straight to the petition.

Many thanks,

Janie

[starman]

What about all the tourists and residents that dont speak Turkish or English as they far out number english speakers. Is there going to be something for them?

[janie]

I have been asking for signatures from every nationality and have found that most of the European Tourists here speak some English.  Unfortunately I dont think it will be possible to have a multi-language operator, however if it is, then we can ask for that too.

Janie

[loz]

Do we have a multi lingual emergency service in the UK, if you ring 999 it is English. 
If tourist need emergency their first port of call would be the Rep, or reception area.  And if you live in Turkey then surely there would be a Turkish neighbour, also if you choose to live in the country it is best to learn a little of the language and not just how to order more than 2 Efes  
I can't see this petition being taken seriously.

[kayakebab]

Signed, although I speak quite a bit of Turkish I don't think I would be able to manage in an emergency panic situation. This is a great idea, please support, it could save lives.

[DANKY]

Everyone is entitled to there view i believe if this  was to happen and it saved one person life then it would be worth while who ever they are !!!!!

[janie]

Hi,

Just a reply to the comments so far.  I have spent the last 10 days with a friend getting this petition signed by all sorts of nationalities.  I have had a few negative responses but in the main, people have been happy to sign and think it is a good idea, these people include, Dutch, Norwegians, Belgians, French, German and many, many Turks.  I thank you all.

If you are in the UK and call 999 that call is automatically traced and as an ex-police officer I can tell you I have been to many calls where the only info is 999 call from such an address, nothing said.  And I am going back 25 years to when I left the police.  Here in Turkey they do not do that.  If the operator does not understand you, he hangs up and nothing further is done.

If you are walking in the woods and bitten by a snake or scorpion, maybe the only thing you can do is call on your mobile, maybe a Turkish Friend can help, but if you are a Tourist, that is unlikely, or say your car goes off the road on a bend in the middle of nowhere?  Same scenario.

This petition cannot hurt anyone, but may help some.

It can also free up the Turkish emergency numbers for the Turks who have to wait while an operator tries to understand the Foreign national trying to explain their emergency and where they are.

If you think it is a good idea, please sign,

Janie

[nichola]

Good reply Janie and thanks for doing this - there is nothing to lose after all and if it can save even one life then that has to be worth all your effort in trying to actually do something to make a difference. I will be signing.

The ALO 179 help line has international speaking operators (English, Russian, German etc) and I believe it operates all over Turkey and is mostly geared towards helping tourists and visitors to Turkey on a range of issues.

It may be worth thinking laterally about how ALO 179 could also incorporate dealing with emergency calls and become the official emergency number for tourists in trouble as this is already in place and operating and wouldn't require additional funding or staffing for a separate system other than some in house training.

Good luck   

PS who are "The Relievers"?

[janie]

Thanks for the support Nichola.  Yes it may well be an option to run it along side or incorporate it with the 179 number, if we get the go ahead from Ankara then this may be discussed.

Cheers for now,
janie

PS sent you an email....

[starman]

Although it maybe a good idea, it will not even get looked at. Remember that English is not the most spoken here after Turkish. There are more Russian and German speakers and lets not forget the several million Kurdish speakers. If they cant be bothered to do one in Kurdish then its not going to happen for German or Russian let alone English.