AMNESTY CALLS ON INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY

Amnesty Calls On International Community To Support Syrian Refugees In Turkey. (Photo : MEMO)

Damascus, 29 Muharram 1436 H/22 November 2014 M (MINA) – Amnesty International’s researcher on Turkey, Andrew Gardner, said on Thursday that the international community has to step forward and provide further support to Syrian refugees in Turkey, noting that:

“Turkey has shouldered a significant part of the financial burden on its own. The reluctance of wealthy countries to take greater financial responsibility for the refugee crisis as a whole and the paltry offers of resettlement are deplorable.” according to Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reports quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA), Saturday.

Gardner’s statement came during a press conference that was held in Istanbul to announce Amnesty’s latest report on Syrian refugees in Turkey, entitled Struggling to Survive: Refugees from Syria in Turkey. The country is currently home to about 1.6 million Syrian refugees.

Gardner explained that the organisation carefully researched the report, including meeting with Turkish government agencies, civil society organisations, the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Syrians refugees themselves.

According to the report, around 220,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey are living in “well-resourced camps, which are currently operating at full capacity”.

However, more than 1.3 million others have sought shelter elsewhere, with only 15 per cent of them receiving assistance from humanitarian agencies and organisations.

“The reality that most Syrian refugees face once they have escaped the ravages of war is grim and hopeless.

Turkey is clearly struggling to meet even the most basic needs of hundreds of thousands Syrian refugees. The result is that many of those who have made it across the border have been abandoned to a life of destitution,” said Gardner.

He continued: “The humanitarian assistance offered by the international community has been pitifully low, but Turkey also needs to do more to request and facilitate it,” before adding that, “The world’s wealthiest nations are dragging their feet when it comes to offering financial support and resettlement.” (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islami News Agency (MINA)