Page 342 - A Helping Hand for Refugees

Refugee issue, in addition to being a humanitarian problem, has
shown two important facts to Turkey and the EU:

First is that although previously the EU had tried to push Turkey
away with all its might, mostly for the reason that Turkey is a Muslim
country, EU had to remember that Turkey is also a European country,
too. European Union is clearly in need of a democratic, European
Muslim country at the gateway to the Middle East. History has repeat-
edly shown its importance and makes its point one more time with the

crisis in Syria.
Secondly, it is very important that Turkey develops a mindset and
attitude that champion democracy, freedoms, women's rights, art, and

quality if it really is a European country. It has to build all its policies
and priorities based on this mindset. It should not give way to radical
mentality that wishes to benefit from Europe's freedom and justice,
while strictly opposing all its values.

The world is changing. We hope that this new era will be one our
Syrian guests find more peace in our country.

This article was published in Arab News:
http://www.harunyahya.com/en/Makaleler/210641/EU-Turkey-find-silver-lining

340 A Helping Hand for Refugees