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39Year 1 | Volume 1 | May-August 2014

Syrian REFUGEES

FocUS

So many things

have been said and dis-cussed about them. Since the

time this country faced the reali-ties of refugees, there have always been

people who expressed their opinions before their keyboards regarding the political aspect

of the issue. The ones who had a pen wrote down many things. There were some who are cat-egorically opposed to sheltering them in Turkey and others who gave them their unconditional support. Nevertheless, reality cannot be shaped according to our perceptions. As KYM NEWS, we take a look the Syrian refugees in Kilis,

Malatya, Mardin, and in Istanbul in order to portray the humanitarian aspect of the

issue. We presented the real picture without hiding anything in our

cover of this issue.

A drama with its hu-

manitarian as-pect almost

forgotten

S

Alper Uyanık

Necip Sahin

40

It has been nearly 3 years since the human

drama in Syria began. Ac-cording to the official figures, over 120,000 civilians lost their lives in this asymmetrical war. Observers clearly reveal the systematic tor-tures, harassment, and violations of human rights tens of thousands of detainees suffer in state pris-ons. There are also war crimes in the picture and hundreds. Chem-ical weapons tragically kill young and old together. All of the big cities are affected by the war. We face a war where 400,000 houses are completely demolished, 1.2 million are rendered uninhabit-able, 500,500 schools and 3,800 mosques no longer function, 57% of the hospitals and 60% of the ambulances are out of service, and nearly 15,000 physicians flee their homeland. This is a dirty and re-lentless war that has led to a severe lack of healthcare provisions. As in the case of all

wars, children are affected worst. Adrian Edwards, the speaker of the UN High Commissariat of Refuges (UNHCR), shares his concerns. “We are concerned that the rupture in social solidarity and security damage the children in particular. Nearly 2 million of chil-dren dropped out of school, and an increasing number of them are exploited as cheap labor or are recruited as child soldiers by cer-tain groups.” There are a myriad of children who had to leave their parents and consequently suffer from extreme depression and fear. Lack of food adversely affects 4 million people, and the situation became apparent recently after a fatwa was given to approve con-sumption of canine, feline and donkey meat. Number of children who are exposed to malnutrition is

near 2 million. Women, whose families have fallen apart,

and who have to func-tion as the head of their

remaining family, are the most affect-ed group together with the children.”

800,000 reFUgeeS are in tUr-Key

Millions of Syr-ian people whose lives have become hell face death at each moment are seeking a safe har-

bor for themselves in this chaos. Ac-

cording to the UNHCR,

4.5 mil-

inumber

of children who are ex-

posed to malnu-trition is near

2 million.

lion went to relatively safer loca-tions in their country, whereas the

number of those who seek shelter outside Syria is

over 2 million. Part of these people took refuge in neighbor-ing countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Leba-

non, and Iraq. Howev-er some of them were en-

snared by human traffickers and risked their lives in Egypt, It-aly, and Greece. The boat disaster news reported in recent months reveals the severity of the issue.

It is an undisputable fact that we are facing a rapidly growing need with every passing day. United Na-tions has initiated the ‘Bread and Blanket for Syria’ campaign, and nongovernmental organizations have contributed to the needs and requirements of Syrian refugees, as they still do. For instance, aid amounting over 57 million TRY have so far been delivered to the Syrian refugees from the condi-tional grants to KYM. The given figure may multiply till our guests learn to stand on their own feet.

The figures are insufficient to express refugee big picture in Tur-key. Therefore, we seek out the refugees in Malatya, Kilis, Mardin and Istanbul- where many are liv-ing now. They neither wanted to talk nor give pictures, as most of them are still worried for their life or for their relatives left behind in Syria. They tend to run away with-out a backward glance as soon as they see the recorder and camera. Fortunately, we were able to reach some refugees and listen to their life story with the help of KYM volunteers who help refugees in the field. Our first stop was the container city in Malatya. After that, we participated in food and meat distribution in Kilis together with a group of volunteers coming from Istanbul and then we visited a polyclinic and another container city in Öncüpınar. After listening to the story of Assyrian refugees

41Year 1 | Volume 1 | May-August 2014

Estimated number of people affected by the crisis in need of humanitarian assis-

tance

Number of Syrian refugees in Turkey

Estimated number of internally displaced

Total amount of the expenses made by

Turkey for the Syrian refugees

Number of reg-istered & awaiting

registration refugees (UNhCR & GOT)

Number of daily new

Syrian refugees

On July 2013, the

UN put out an estimate of over 100,000

deaths

Estimated number of destroyed and

damaged housings

9.300.000

634.147

6.500.000

+ 2 billion dollars

2.562.793

5.000+100K

1.600.000

Syria criSiS: FactS and FigUreS**as of March 2014

42

from Syria settling in Mardin, we departed for İstanbul, and listened to the story of refugees who took shelter in the metropolis.

SenSe oF emPathy iS the greateSt eXPec-tation

Latif Memiş, Deputy Gover-nor of Malatya, received KYM NEWS where the Beydagi accom-modation facility under AFAD’s management accommodates over 7,000 Syrian refugees. He says that there might be a lack of per-ception although the Syrians do not suffer greatly during the nor-malization process. He Indicates that the Syrian refugees who have taken shelter at the camps are ei-ther poor or have become poor de-spite previously being rich. Ham-za Demir, Provincial Director of AFAD Malatya, explains that the richer refugees settle in different provinces throughout Turkey and some of them establish businesses and engage in trading.

The Beydagi accommodation facility experienced its first trial after the Syrian crisis. Established on 430 thousand sqm area, the container city has a capacity of 10,500 persons. According to the information obtained from Ni-hat Yazıcıoğlu, Manager of the container city, the facilities were commissioned in June and are composed of 2,000 containers, three playgrounds for children, and a social complex consisting of two schools and two mosques each. There is a kindergarten un-dertaken by KYM, which recently laid the foundation. It will be in service as of next year. Over 600 personnel and volunteers are do-ing their best to make war weary refugees feel comfortable, if not at home. Latif Memiş, the Depu-ty Governor of Malatya, says that they are taking care of all needs and requirements of refugees liv-ing in their city, underlining that a sense of empathy is the greatest ex-pectation of Syrian refugees from

43Year 1 | Volume 1 | May-August 2014

Beydagi accommoda-

tion facility expe-riences its first trial

after the Syrian crisis. Established on 430 thou-

sand sqm area in total, the container city has a

capacity of 10 thou-sand and 500

persons.

on Photo

44

45Year 1 | Volume 1 | May-August 2014

A Turcoman, named Muhammad

Sharif huveyk (68), who fled from hama and took shelter in Turkey nearly a

month ago, was subsequently placed at the Beydagi accom-modation facility by the au-thorities, expresses that he is

very content with the kind interest from the peo-

ple of Malatya.

on Photo

the people of Turkey.

“hoPeFUlly we will Be caPaBle oF re-SPonding to the Benevolence and Kind heartedneSS oF tUrKiSh PeoPle in the FUtUre.”

Despite everything, the Syrian refugees are never tired of express-ing their gratitude. The refugees in the camps are grateful to gov-ernment, to the public, and to non-governmental organizations. A Turcoman, named Muhammad Sharif Huveyk (68), who fled from Hama and took shelter in Turkey nearly a month ago, was subsequently placed at the Beyda-gi accommodation facility by the authorities, expresses that he is very content with the kind interest from the people of Malatya. He led average life back in Syria, fathered 11 children and 29 grandchildren. Huveyk did not only lose every-thing to the war, but also went into a substantial amount of debt for passing the border. A group liv-ing in both sides of the border that earned money for getting refugees pass through minefields, charged people like Huveyk, who did not have a passport and had to pass the border through illegal means, ‘per head’. They are named the ‘headmen’. After being swindled by these headmen for crossing into Turkey; Muhammad Sharif Hu-veyk lost two of his grandchildren, ages 8 and 14, during the bomb attacks. Huveyk is so pleased with the living conditions and kind interests of the authorities at the camp. “I would stay here, if per-mitted, even after the war ends.” He says. His only complaint is the insufficient food checks grant-ed by United Nations per person amounting to 80 TRY. The au-thorities add 20 TRY to make amount 100 TRY. The Turcoman refugee wishes to “Go to Malatya to get to know people better.”

Another grateful refugee is Ab-

46

durrahman Hadjimuhammad (46) from Humus. He states that they are treated nicely and the Manager, Nihat Yazıcıoğlu, always shows interest in them. “Hopeful-ly, we will be capable of respond-ing to the benevolence and good heartedness of Turkish people in the future”. Mr. Hadjimuhammad continues. Having lost four of his cousins in the war, HacıMuham-mad has not heard from his elder brother, who went to join the Op-ponents and got lost ever since. The refugee from Humus says that the soldiers burned down his house, so he had nothing else to do but to take his wife and seven children to Turkey for shelter. He used to engage in trade before the war broke out. He owned an auto-mobile gallery, an aluminum pro-cessing workshop, and a poultry farm back at home. When things became intolerable, he sent his wife and children to Turkey first, then left everything behind and set out to a 22-day travel to arrive in Turkey. “The reform-minded people burned down my house and confiscated everything I had. I could not take anything with me; I took my shirt on and fled.” HacıMuhammad explains.

Halid Elmuhammad (55), who came from Humus’ Tisni village as refugee to our country, says that the soldiers occupied his vil-lage, captured 150 people, exe-cuted them by firing squad, and threw them into sea. He says that the village of Tisni was evacuated in one night They took shelter in another village before they arrived to Humus, followed by Aleppo, and finally to Turkey. The refugee from Tisni lost his elder brother and his son-in-law- to the war. He is living in the Beydagi container city together with his wife, child, and other brothers. He states that he sometimes talks to his relatives who stay in Turkey on phone. He says that he hopes that he will see their faces even it is on the screen one day.

“a generation iS on the verge oF getting comPletely loSt dUe to war”

With its cosmopolite atmo-sphere, Mardin has become a sym-bol of living together. The charac-teristics of the city are even present in the profile of Syrian refugees liv-ing there. Being the capital to an-cient cultures, Mardin embraced Syrian refugees who were seeking a safe haven to live after the war. Eymad Yusuf (43) is one of the As-syrians who used to live in Haseki before the war broke out. He had to flee due to the conflicts that arose after the rebels captured the city. Settling in Mardin together with his wife and his sons, Yusuf worked as a representative of spare parts for heavy vehicles before the war. The greatest problem the As-syrian refugees face, although they are very content with the attention of the people of Mardin, is that their children cannot continue their education. They are con-cerned for the future of their chil-dren, as they cannot register their children to a state school without a residency certificate. The refugees underline that a generation is on the verge of being completely lost due to war. Mariana (21) was a sophomore studying English Lan-guage and Literature at the uni-versity. However she had to quit school when bombs were explod-ing. She fled to Mardin together with her fiancé, Carlos (24), who was a teacher before he was enlist-ed as gendarme. He ran away due to the torture crimes committed by the army. Her biggest wish is that when the war ends she can resume her education. The couples married in Mardin and now live in a boiler room in an old building. Their families stayed in Syria. Car-los says that he does all kinds of work to earn a living. He adds that his only wish is to be able to re-turn to their families if and when the war ends. Carlos says that he is concerned whether the soldiers in

Kym aidS to Syrian reFUgeeS: FactS and

FigUreS

Education

health

Food

Others

Furniture /Effects

Cleaning /hygiene

Clothes

187.228 $

352.863 $

4.809.093 $

1.853.831 $

2.710.280 $

319.366 $

18.227.757 $

total: 28.460.418 $

47Year 1 | Volume 1 | May-August 2014

hadjimuhammad (46) owned an auto-

mobile gallery, an alumi-num processing workshop, and a poultry farm back at

home. When things became in-tolerable, he sent his wife and children to Turkey first, then left everything behind and set out to a 22-day travel

to arrive in Turkey.

on Photo

48

Haseki would harm their families as he ran away from the army so he did not allow us to take pictures.

Subhi Vali (55) is just anoth-er person whose children had to quit school because of the war. With the help from his relatives, Mr. Vali settled in Istanbul near-ly a year ago. The Vali family rented a house for 600 TRY in Mahmutbey. Now they are trying to live off with the monthly sala-ry of 800 TRY earned by the 18 year old young man of the house who works, uninsured, in a belt factory. “Electricity, water, gas. The salary of my son evaporates before the end of the month. So we try to survive with aids com-ing from friends and organizations like KYM.” Says the father. Subhi Vali cannot contribute to the fam-ily budget because he cannot find a job and he cannot send his 16 year-old daughter and 12 year-old son to school due to financial ob-stacles. One of his daughters took refuge in Lebanon with her hus-band. His other two daughters are living in Saudi Arabia because they married into families there. Feel-ing sad for not being able to send the little children to a school, the father regretfully states, “I am un-employed. Schools ask for money. We cannot afford stationery. That is why we cannot send them to

school”. Mr. Vali, a man of Turco-man descent, says that they always saw Turkey as their homeland and they dreamt of settling to Turkey for good even before the war broke out. “This was ment for today” Vali adds while he hangs a Turkish flag on the wall of his house rented at Mahmutbey.

Subhi Vali is one of the lucky few Syrians who is living in Istan-bul. It is enough to walk along the Fatih-Aksaray line just to see how harsh the conditions for some ref-ugees are. Adding the Beyazıt, Bağcılar, and Şirinevler-Bahçeliev-ler line to that, we are facing a brand new of migration wave estimated to be around 100,000 already. Parks and abandoned areas are occupied by Syrians with no place to go. We see children who tap our car win-dows at red lights and old people who beg on the streets. Neverthe-less, as soon as they see the camera, they run away from us. Only Ab-durrahman accepts being photo-graphed. He neither tells us his last name nor shares his story. He prob-ably wants to remain anonymous just like other hundreds of Syrian refugees. He silently poses for the camera as if slapping us with the fact that he is merely one of the hundreds of thousands which are mere figures for most of us. And we take a picture.

We see children who

tap our car windows at red lights and old

people who beg on the streets. Nevertheless, as

soon as they see the cam-era, they run away from us. Only Abdurrahman

accepts being pho-tographed.

on Photo