ANKARA
The humanitarian aid Turkish citizens have been trying to offer to the Syrian people has been on the decline, aid organizations say.
Faced with a longer-lasting humanitarian situation than they have ever experienced, officials from Turkish relief groups Cansuyu, Deniz Feneri, Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) and Kimse Yok Mu told AA correspondent that recent events like the military coup in Egypt have pushed the acute Syrian crisis into the background.
In addition, there seems to be a general perception among the Turkish public that the government is already doing everything necessary to help Syrians, which is an important contributor to the recent decline, AA correspondent says.
Uncertainty regarding the outcome of the civil war appears to be another reason for the public reluctance to help Syrians.
"We observe that our donors hesitate to help because of the political turmoil in Syria and its relations with Turkey in the past," Deniz Feneri Association said.
The group says it has carried 16.5 million TL (US $8.6m) worth of humanitarian aid to Syrian shelter-seekers.
Kimse Yok Mu, which has provided Syrians with 35 million TL ($18.3m) in aid, said citizens prefer to send more help to Somalia, Pakistan and Myanmar than neighboring Syria.
Five hundred thousand Syrians are believed to have taken refuge in Turkey, with two hundred thousand living in prefab homes built by Turkish emergency management agency.
"The situation in Syria is very bad," said a Cansuyu official. "NGOs alone cannot heal this wound."
Representatives of Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said public aid is not on par with the rising aid requirements in Syria, where the number of hungry has reached 10 million. The organization has offered aid to 2.7 million Syrians since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
Infant formula, a very expensive product in Syria, is among the most urgently needed relief items, officials said, as the heavy stress resulting from the chaos in the country has caused mothers' breast milk to dry up.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
