End the Middle East conflict to stem flood of refugees in Europe
What you need to know:
- Last month, government representatives in Ankara told a group of African journalists that Turkey’s intentions are to restore the refugees’ dignity and honour and to ensure that they are well-integrated into Turkish society.
- Unlike the Dadaab camp and most of the refugee centres in Europe, the Syrian refugees are allowed to work and invest in businesses in the host country.
- Turkey’s ambitions to become a regional powerhouse have grown under Erdogan.
Later this month in Istanbul, the United Nations and the government of Turkey will co-host the World Humanitarian Summit that will bring together heads of State, aid agencies, and civil society leaders to address the needs of some 4.5 million Syrians who have fled from their homes, and of the 125 million people worldwide who are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Turkey has a particular interest in this conference as it is hosting 2.7 million Syrians within its borders and has already spent nearly $10 billion on providing housing, food and medical assistance to Syrian refugees.
Last month, government representatives in Ankara told a group of African journalists that Turkey’s intentions are to restore the refugees’ dignity and honour and to ensure that they are well-integrated into Turkish society.
Indeed, Turkey’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis has been remarkable and in sharp contrast to that of European countries, which are not only repelling the refugees but putting up fences to prevent them from entering.
Unlike the overcrowded and under-serviced Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, where refugees live in makeshift tents donated by the United Nations and where the rules of the jungle often determine which refugee will survive and which will be swallowed up by the inhuman conditions in the camp, Turkey’s refugee camps have all the infrastructure of a well-serviced settlement.
At the Nizip camp, located near Gaziantep town, some 30 kilometres from the Syrian border and on the banks of the Euphrates River, refugees live in prefab houses that have electricity, hot water, fans, heaters, and television sets.
A 24-hour hospital takes care of their medical needs and there are schools that provide education in both Arabic and Turkish.
What is more, if two people in the camp wish to get married, they are provided with a bridal car and gifts donated by the government.
LOVE AND HOPE
The Turkish authorities encourage weddings at the camp, one official told me, because marriage symbolises hope.
The camp is under tight security but residents are allowed to leave the camp if they wish.
Unlike the Dadaab camp and most of the refugee centres in Europe, the Syrian refugees are allowed to work and invest in businesses in the host country.
Hence nearly 90 per cent of the refugees in Turkey live in towns such as Gaziantep, where they have opened businesses and where they are learning to integrate with the local people.
However, not all is as rosy as it might appear. The fact remains that these people are refugees who yearn to go back home some day.
One bright young woman at the Nizip camp told us that she would rather be anywhere else but the camp as life as a refugee is not worth living.
The World Humanitarian Summit comes at a time when the European Union has signed a controversial agreement with Turkey whereby the latter will accept all the refugees that Europe wants to turn away — a deal that has drawn heavy criticism from human rights groups that say that it violates international laws that forbid countries from expelling people fleeing from war.
In return, Turkey expects the EU to donate billions of euros in aid, which will be channelled through the Turkish government.
The agreement is also premised on the condition that by the end of July, Turks will enjoy visa-free travel to Europe’s Schengen zone countries.
Sceptics say that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using the Syrian humanitarian crisis as a political tool through which he can gain concessions for Turkey, which for years has been unsuccessfully vying to gain membership in the EU.
Turkey’s ambitions to become a regional powerhouse have grown under Erdogan.
END STRIFE
Turkey is currently the 17th largest economy in the world and aims to be among the top 10 by 2023.
It is also among the world’s leading donors. However, the agreement with Europe suggests that Turkey is willing to overlook the fact that Europe is violating international law in order to gain political advantage.
In other words, it is trading refugees for political mileage. What the deal and summit also overlook is the root cause of the refugee crisis, that is, the war in Syria, which shows no signs of abating.
Ending that conflict would do more to reduce the current humanitarian disaster than any amount of aid.