Turkey, the largest host of refugees in the world / Feels pressure from the public

2023-06-20 19:53:12, Kosova & Bota CNA

Turkey, the largest host of refugees in the world / Feels pressure from the

Turkey hosts more refugees than any other country in the world, including over 3 million Syrians who have fled the civil war. Turkish President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan is continuing his policy of accepting millions of refugees, mostly Syrians, into Turkey and allowing them to stay despite growing public opposition. VOA correspondent Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

Many Syrian refugees who went to Turkey lost more than their homes and country. 18-year-old Semir, who only wanted to be identified by his first name, lost his parents and four siblings in the civil war; he lost his legs but says he hopes to walk again.

"They helped me a lot with everything, thank God. Everything is fine. I'm doing a bit of training with the limbs and then they'll go to a new prosthesis. I'll start walking again."

The Istanbul Orthopedic Prosthetics Center was established by the Turkey Humanitarian Aid Foundation as well as the International Medical Association.

The latest technology is used there under the supervision of Dr. Yasar Tatarit.

"Especially in Syria, there are a large number of those who have lost limbs. Burns caused by bombs also pose great challenges for us. We have served about 2,045 people and made approximately 4,000 prostheses. This is a huge number. Few centers in the world can make so many prostheses in such a short time."

February's deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria added to the center's work, as many people lost limbs in the disaster.

Turkey hosts over 3 million Syrian refugees, along with large numbers of Iraqis and Afghans.

Anti-refugee sentiment is on the rise, and this is often reflected in graffiti.

"Social problems may arise from the arrival of large numbers of refugees. Turkey's recent economic problems have also had an impact. Moreover, during the elections some politicians in particular raised the issue of refugees," says Mustafa Ozbek with the Humanitarian Aid Foundation .

During May's presidential election, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's challengers pledged to return millions of Syrian refugees.

Analysts say Erdogan's victory is a relief not only for the refugees but also for the European Union, which pays Turkey to host the refugees.

"The Europeans were probably relieved when Erdogan was re-elected, because this means that the refugee agreement, which is very important to EU leaders, will remain intact, will remain functional," says political analyst Serhat Guvenc . .

But President Erdogan, perhaps aware of Turkish public concern about refugees, is now vowing to speed up house building in Syrian areas outside Damascus' control to facilitate the return of a million Syrians. It remains to be seen how many Syrian refugees will accept this offer./ VOA