The woman was asked to provide testimony in an investigation against Adana Public Hospital, whose personnel were accused of refusing to treat 7-year-old Syrian Emine al-Ilewi, who was brought into Turkey by her father after being wounded in a clash in Syria, on the grounds that there was no pediatric surgery section.
In her testimony, the 21-year-old woman, K.H., said she was not a nurse but acted like one at the hospital for four months going unnoticed.
K.H. had helped the girl’s father bring her sick daughter from Adana Public Hospital to Çukurova Dr. Aşkım Tüfekçi Public Hospital, where the patient was accepted for treatment, 300 meters away from the initial hospital.
K.H., who was detained on charges of “title fraud” after revealing her real identity, said being a nurse was her childhood dream.
“Since I was a child, I have wanted to become a nurse and help people. I bought a nurse outfit. I used to go to the hospital every morning and help people. I have worked like this for four months. But I did not agree to receive anything from anyone,” said the woman, who was confirmed by Adana Public Hospitals Union to have not participated in any medical and non-medical intervention or any surgeries.
K.H., however, said she worked during surgeries and in the intensive care but that nobody asked her ID.
“Nobody asked my ID. Because they had not questioned where I was coming from, I was able to enter everywhere [in the hospital] freely. My intention was never to harm anyone,” said K.H.
After her testimony, the woman was released.
The hospital’s personnel, meanwhile, said they thought she was an interning nurse.
“There are interns coming and going all the time. Therefore we thought that the woman was one of them [interns]. That is why we never thought of asking for her ID,” one hospital staff member said.