Page 96 - A Helping Hand for Refugees

send them back" will have blood on their hands. No pretext can justify
handing someone over to a murderer; that is an indescribable hol-
lowness of the soul.

It is even worse if that mindset is present among people in charge
of running the country. Someone who does not have mercy for others
in difficulty will not have mercy toward his own people, either.
Someone who does not protect the innocent in times of need will not
protect his own people. A spirit without compassion is the same every-

where, regardless of the circumstances.
No matter what their numbers are, the Syrian refugees are the
brothers and sisters of Turkish people. They become our citizens the

moment they seek refuge here and we have a duty to protect them. We
will happily undergo difficulties for that purpose. We will not hand
people over to killers, because we are their protectors. We do not forget
that the guests of God bring goodness with them. Therefore, those love-
less and ruthless voices raised against the refugees will find no sup-
port in our country. On the contrary, they will spur the conscience of

94 A Helping Hand for Refugees