GAZIANTEP, Turkey: With the fall of the significant Syrian city of Aleppo, around 100,000 people are forced to flee their home due to fears that the Assad regime and Iran-backed Shiite militias could commit massacres.
Turkey, home to more than 3 million refugees, is more than ready to accept the civilians fleeing death.
Gaziantep, a southeastern border province, has been sheltering nearly half a million refugees since the Syrian civil war began years ago. Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Şahin told a local newspaper in an exclusive interview that her city will continue to keep an open door policy toward the oppressed “even without the help of the world community.”
According to official figures, Gaziantep currently hosts slightly more than 400,000 refugees. However, authorities told the paper that the estimated number is around half a million, more than many European countries combined.
The Turkish Red Crescent has been ramping up efforts to prepare a tent city for civilians fleeing Aleppo. Turkish Red Crescent authorities told the newspaper that the preparations are complete. Yesterday, Kerem Kınık, head of the Turkish Red Crescent, said the Turkish Red Crescent was preparing to increase capacity in refugee camps as the number of the people being evacuated was expected to reach 50,000.
“We reached Gaziantep’s projected population for 2030 in 2014. It means that the municipality has to invest greatly in education, infrastructure, employment and security,” Şahin said, explaining how Gaziantep was tested at the time.
The mayor also gave examples of how the Gaziantep municipality introduced new plans to adapt Syrian women and children to daily life. “Syrian women enrolled at courses opened by our municipality. The number of Syrian children receiving education jumped to 67,000 from 3,000 in two-and-a-half years,” she said.
