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Lossiemouth volunteer describes ‘distress’ of holiday-makers caught in Rhodes wildfires

Liz Tait, from Lossiemouth, led a team of four British Red Cross volunteers to support to British citizens on holiday in the area.

Headshot of Liz Tait wearing a red and grey British Red Cross jacket
Liz Tait, from Lossiemouth, is a British Red Cross volunteers and NHS Grampian clinical governance expert. Image: FCDO.

A Moray health manager has led a team of volunteers deployed to Rhodes to support those impacted by devastating wildfires.

Liz Tait, who lives in Lossiemouth, has volunteered with the British Red Cross for the past 50 years and travelled all over the world to offer support through the charity’s psychosocial and mental health team.

Her most recent deployment to the Greek island involved helping hundreds of people left displaced due to the extreme conditions.

Mrs Tait and three other team members provided essential support to “distressed” holidaymakers who were evacuated and left without essentials when the fires broke out last month.

Wildfires in Rhodes.
Wildfires have been raging across the Greek island of Rhodes. Image: Argyris Mantikos/Eurokinissi via AP.

She said: “This deployment was different to many others I have been on in the past as the people we were supporting had simply booked a holiday and were met with the wildfires and the subsequent destruction they caused.

“You are supporting them through the initial stages, like having to take shelter on the floor of a hotel which they weren’t staying in, being in large groups with strangers, not having access to fresh clothes, toiletries or medicine.

“However you also have to prepare them for returning home and being in a position to return to normal life after going through such a traumatic event where at times they had been in fear for their lives.

“We met some very distressed people when we arrived in Rhodes and we had to help them function in a new environment while the wildfires were ongoing, and all the uncertainty that comes with that.”

Thousands of people were evacuated as a result of the Greek wildfires, including a family from Inverurie who were rowed to safety on a small dinghy.

Helping as many people as possible

Mrs Tait, who works as a clinical governance lead for the NHS, was first deployed by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in 2006 to support people fleeing Beirut.

She has since been involved with emergencies including the Chinese earthquake in 2008, the Tunisia terror attack in 2015, Hurricane Irma in Dominica in 2017 and the Afghanistan evacuation in 2021.

Earlier this year, the 65-year-old received a BEM for her work as a volunteer on Operation London Bridge during the Queen’s state funeral.

The British Red Cross team also praised the “amazing” work of the Hellenic Red Cross who worked day and night alongside the fire service to evacuate holidaymakers and residents.

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