Syrian Refugees Have A Better Life In Turkey

KAHRAMANMARAS (Turkey), June 23 (Bernama) -- The “daily routine” of bombings and gunshots in Syria drove Ammar Amman to flee the country. Amman, 43, his wife Rivayda Selfun, 40, and their three daughters fled to Turkey to escape the tyranny of the Syrian civil war that erupted in 2011. "Everything is gone, my home, my job, everything. Fortunately, Turkey has sheltered us and given us new hope," he said in Arabic which was translated into English for Bernama by an officer at the KahramanMaras Temporary Protection Centre for Syrian refugees, located near the Syrian border about 1,200km from Istanbul. Amman is among the 24,000 Syrian refugees who live in container-turned-homes that are equipped with water supply, solar-powered electricity and furniture. "We have a better life here than the waiting-to-die life in Syria. Turkey treats us like guests and as their brothers as well as looks into our needs," he said with a smile. Nevertheless, he still misses his homeland and hopes to return some day. A Syrian teacher, Ayyem Sameer, 35, and his family had also fled on foot to Turkey to escape the Syrian civil war. "I am providing my service here at a school built at the centre and teaching Syrians students geography and history. "It is the least I can do. I am hoping that we can return home. But it is not safe. Here, it is safer for my family," he said. Six-year-old Nabilah Mehmet seemed happy to be with other Syrian children as they ran up to greet the foreign journalists who had come on a visit to the centre. Asked about going back home to Syria, she replied: " I will return once the war stops but for now I want to live here as I have a lot of friends." The KahramanMaras centre was reopened to the refugees in March last year after the Turkish government developed the 347,000 square metre facility from hundreds of canvas tents into container homes. The centre is equipped with basic amenities, including three markets, clinics, playgrounds, courtyards, mosques and schools, making it a self-sufficient centre for its residents, said KahramanMaras Temporary Protection Centre director Mehmet Turkoz. He said the centre also provided vocational training for the refugees to gain skills and knowledge in preparation for taking up jobs. -- BERNAMA