25 May 2017•Update: 25 May 2017
By Lale Koklu
HATAY, Turkey
The head of a Danish NGO in Turkey has spoken about the country’s “appreciative and tolerant” attitude to Syrian refugees.
Andreas Kamm, secretary-general of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), was part of a delegation hosted by the governor of Turkey’s southern Hatay province on Thursday.
Hatay Governor Erdal Ata met the DRC team to pass on his gratitude for their work in helping Syrian refugees in the area.
The DRC visited Hatay to provide legal aid, advocacy for displaced people plus rights awareness-raising.
It is a humanitarian NGO working with over 30 countries around the world.
According to the statement by the governor’s office, Ata said Turkey had been unselfishly providing Syrian people with all kinds of services, including education and health support, since the crisis emerged.
He also said all foreign NGOs should abide by the rules of Turkey.
“The DRC is an organization which has put its signature under fruitful … works, among others,” Ata added.
Kamm said they admired Turkey for being “so appreciative and tolerant” toward Syrians.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, more than a 250,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-torn country, according to the UN.
Turkey now hosts some three million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world. The country has spent around $25 billion helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian war.
Reporting by Lale Koklu; Writing by Kubra Chohan
