Page 363 - A Helping Hand for Refugees

The flow of Syrian refugees began when 300 people reached the
Turkish border on May 3, 2011. A group of 10,000 refugees was seen
for the first time in June 2011 when the town of Jisr al-Shughur was
surrounded by Assad's forces. The total number of Syrian refugees then
rose to 400,000 in 2012, 1.5mn in 2013, 3mn in 2014 and 4mn in 2015.

Cities that were bombed by the world's most advanced warplanes
now stand in ruins. In other words, the great majority of refugees no
longer have a home or even a hometown to return to.

As the number of refugees crossing the border increased by the
day, in March 2012 the Turkish government began building tent cities
in four large cities. Turkey has maintained an open-door policy along

its 600-km border with Syria ever since Day One; more than 2.5mn
refugees are currently living within Turkey's borders. These include
300,000 Syrian children receiving an education in Turkey, while 150,000
Syrian babies have been born in Turkey.

However, only 10% of the refugees are living in refugee cities: The
other 90% are dispersed all over Turkey. The city of Kilis, which nor-
mally has a population of 130,000 but hosting 120,000 refugees now,
has been made a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. Many people
describe this behaviour on the part of the people of Kilis as an example
of matchless altruism.

Turkey's total spending on refugees over the last five years is $10bn,
which the state has provided almost entirely from its own resources.

The international community has long ignored the presence of these
2.5mn refugees in Turkey and has left the country unaided and alone.
Turkey is still meeting the needs of the camps on the Syrian side

of the border. Turkish civil society organisations and official bodies are
working in excellent co-ordination in this mobilisation of aid. Many
Turkish aid organisations, and particularly the Humanitarian Relief
Foundation, are striving to alleviate, at least to some extent, the suf-
fering of millions.

Adnan Oktar (Harun Yahya) 361