Turkish phone operator develops app for Syrian refugees

ANKARA

Turkey's leading operator Turkcell has developed a mobile application for over 3 million Syrian refugees in the country, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Hello Hope" app aims to teach basic Turkish words and expressions both in written and spoken formats to ease the daily lives of the refugees hosted in Turkey, the phone operator said.

"The application provides additional location-based features to figure how to reach the healthcare services or the closest service points.

The users also can connect to the Arabic call center with just one click," Turkcell said in the statement.

The leading mobile operator said "Hello Hope" application can be found in iOS and Android application stores and is open to all users from different mobile operators.

Turkcell, currently giving services to more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees, represented the communication sector at a UN forum on Monday where the massive Syrian refugee influx, portrayed as "the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II," was discussed.

According to the Turkcell statement, the company's CEO, Kaan Terzioglu addressed 350 prominent leaders including the UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, actor and filmmaker Ewan McGregor, among the international society, during the session.

"The future of Syrian children and teenagers is in our hands. It is time to discuss the integration issue," said Terzioglu, explaining the solutions provided by Turkcell to meet the communication needs of Syrian refugees.

Terzioglu stressed that civilizations historically were built over migration waves, and the societies and economies would not be weakened by such migration movements, conversely, would be strengthened as approved by the UN.

"We believe that the chance of a non-traumatic meaningful life for the hundreds of thousands Syrian children and teenagers, who would stay with us at least in the midterm, was relying on the integration issue. We are working to meet their communication needs in order to help in their daily lives," he said.

According to the UN, Turkey has been most generous in accommodating more than 3 million Syrian refugees from neighboring countries, mainly from Syria.

Turkcell has also introduced the country's first Arabic call center as part of the services given to Syrians in the countrywide refugee camps.