Turkey’s Border Crisis
Tulin Daloglu reports from a refugee camp on Turkey’s border with Syria that the time has come for Turkey to accept international assistance to deal with Syrian refugees.
Nizip, Turkey — More than 220,000 Syrian refugees live in Turkey, including 136,500 who live in makeshift camps on the border. Those numbers will continue to grow as long as Turkey continues its open-border policy.
Although Turkey has asked the international community for help with humanitarian aid, the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan does not want to share control of the border camps.
Neither the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) nor other non-governmental organizations have full access to the areas, for which Turkey has spent nearly $225 million to give “temporary protection” to Syrians fleeing their country.
While Turkey’s resistance to international assistance for the refugees may be puzzling, Turkey has so far shouldered these costs. But the burden on Turkey grows every day, the war in Syria continues, and there is no end in sight.
