(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Gaziantep, Turkey: The Governor of the south-central Turkish province of Gaziantep, which borders Syria, said charity organisations in Qatar have been doing commendable work for the Syrian refugees who are being treated as guests by the Turkish government.
Talking to The Peninsula, on the sidelines of a breakfast meeting organised by the Turkish Airlines, Governor Davut Gul (pictured), said, Turkey, in spite of taking the responsibility of accommodating 3.6 million refugees from Syria, is providing them with all the facilities on par with its own citizens.
'We call them protected people. They are not refugees. We are giving them all facilities to have a better life until they go back to their home land, Davut said.
The Governor said Gaziantep, one of the five Turkish provinces that share border with Syria, is hosting around 400,000 refugees. It was in April 2011, Turkey started to receive refugees from Syria. The first batch of 252 people came from Aleppo and surrounding areas. Within a year their number rose to 23,000 and by 2015, it reached two million.
Gaziantep is holding the record of accommodating 200,000 refugees within a 24-hour period as the exodus was unimaginable during the peak of war. Istanbul, Turkey's largest city with a population of over 15 million, hosts 560,000 refugees while Gaziantep, which has a tenth of Istanbul's population, has accepted almost that many refugees.
Gaziantep's population saw 30 percent of growth due to refugee intake. Providing them with all the basic facilities has put a huge strain on the resources of the province. Still the government is doing its best.
'The major issue we are facing is in the education sector. More than half of the refugees are under 18 and we need at least 5,000 classes for them as there are average and bright students among them and they must be given education and training on those levels, Davut said.
Answering to a question on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent statement that Turkey may reopen the route for refugees into Europe, if it does not receive adequate support to enable it to cope with the millions of refugees in Turkey, Davut said: 'It doesn't mean Turkey will throw out our Syrian brothers and sisters from this land. Everybody knows that we are handling the refugees with utmost care. However, it is unethical that Turkey alone carry this burden of the flowing migrants. In an agreement reached with the European Union in March 2016, we gave assurance to stem the flow of refugees into Europe in return for financial aid. But Turkey so far has received only a fraction of the amount.
Erdogan's warning should be viewed in the wake of Idlib offensive by the Syrian regime raising the prospect of a new wave of refugees, he added.
Turkey and the United States have decided to set up a ‘safe zone' in North Eastern Syria that can host up to three million Syrians.
The Governor urged Qataris to utilise the booming tourism and food sectors in the province. He also invited Qatari businessmen to invest in the sprawling industry.
'We are the leaders in food and textile industries. For tasting the best Turkish cuisine, pastries and fresh dry fruits Gaziantep is the answer, he said.
Gaziantep's food is so popular that people fly down from Istanbul just for lunch. And its baklava (a kind of Turkish pastry) and pistachio are the region's best known products. Davut Gul recalled the recently concluded Gastronomi Festival which attracted thousands of foodies and hundreds of foreign tourists.
The Governor said that plans are under way to convert Gaziantep airport from domestic to international as thousands of passengers have been visiting the city and surrounding places to explore its natural beauty and delicious cuisine.
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