FEATURE: Syrian refugees in Gaziantep, Turkey and their hope for peace back home
By Ahmedweli Husein
The five year civil war in Syria has killed upwards of 400,000 thousand people and displaced up to five million others now spread across many parts of the world mainly in Europe.
Thousands have been hosted by Turkey and they are trying to adopt to their new homes as hopes of peace and stability back home remain a mirage by the day.
Turkey has 27 refugee camps nationwide and hosts 2.8 Million Syrian refugees.
With a team of a couple of African journalists, I visited Gaziantep city in Turkey which borders the war torn Syria.
Nizip refugee camp
This city is 40 kilometres drive to Syrian-Turkey border is home to some 30,000 Syrian refugees who fled their homes following the civil war. Nizip is name of the refugee camp and Turkey National Disaster Management Commission (AFAD) is the care taker authority.
We cracked jokes about the standards of living in the camp; no way could we compare this camp to Dadaab in northern Kenya or other conventional refugee camps in Africa. The camp enjoys running water, 24/7 electricity, cooling system, supermarkets and all the necessary things for city dwellers.
Every household lives in a home with bedroom, living room and toilet. Portable cookers, clean water and monthly cards to shop at the supermarkets are other amenities refugees in this camp enjoy.
Schools, libraries, recreational centers, play grounds for children and hospitals are built at the center of the camp. The refugees in Gaziantep town outnumber the residents of the town. Everyone I talked gave a positive view on life in Turkey.
News from home
Abdullahi Siyad hopes that he will go back to his country Syria one day and says he follow the news of the war in Syria from the camp.
More than 145,000 refugees arrived in this camp for the first three months of this year. Most of the people whom I talked prefer to go to Germany to reunite with members of their families who already made to Germany after the civil war erupted in 2011.
Majority of Syrian refugees in Turkey are male of average age of 19 adding up to 1.3 million out of a total 1.8 million. I talked to an aged woman who abandoned her city after intense fighting between government forces and rebel groups ruined it.
Turkey Disaster Management Commission estimates that these refugees may remain in the camp for up to twenty years or may eventually become Turkey nationals.
A teenager whom I also spoke to said she did not care whether she was living in Damascus of Europe but, “all I want is peace.”
Ali Haji Qurban lives the camp with a number of his grand children. Some of his children live in Germany but says if Bashir Alasad (Syrian president) is removed from power, he will go back to Syria as soon as possible.
Turkey and European Union recently signed a readmission agreement that envisages the acceptance by Turkey of citizens from third countries who have arrived in EU countries illegally through its territory. The agreement will also allow Turkish citizens the right to travel to EU countries on a visa-free basis.