Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Three million refugees of other nationality, having different customs and traditions, could have a demographic impact on any country for the last five years.
More than 4.5 million people became refugees as a result of the military conflict in Syria, which was earlier one of the most intellectually advanced countries of the Arab East.
At present, there are three million refugees only in Turkey. This has been the most severe humanitarian crisis since the World War II.
Along with Turkey, refugees from Syria took refuge in such neighboring countries as Jordan and Lebanon.
According to the Saudi authorities' statements, there are two million Syrian refugees on the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
It should be stressed that Turkey has created the most favorable conditions for the refugees from Syria, mainly dominated by ethnic Arabs, Kurds and Circassians, compared to neighboring countries.
There are also cultural centers for refugees in the container cities in Turkey.
Aside from that the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) of Turkey has issued special AFADARD payment cards for Syrian refugees.
However, the Turkish government and the refugees themselves well understand that no matter which living conditions are created in Turkey, still it can't replace the life in the homeland.
The First World Humanitarian Summit kicked off in Turkey's Istanbul on May 23.
This forum is ambiguously assessed both in Turkey and beyond.
There is an opinion that by holding this summit, Turkey allegedly advertises itself and its help to Syrian refugees.
But the country, which has allocated $10 billion from the state budget to upkeep Syrian refugees, doesn't really need advertising.
Addressing the opening of the World Humanitarian Summit, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the international community has allocated $455 million to upkeep Syrian refugees.
That's a minuscule amount compared to the funds Turkey has spent to upkeep the Syrian refugees.
The Turkish president expressed hope that the first World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul will give an important impetus for the settlement of the humanitarian crisis.
However, the Turkish president's hopes will hardly be justified.
Despite the fact that the EU promised to allocate $3 billion for Turkey to upkeep the Syrian refugees, Turkey still hasn't received the promised funds.
Although it is clear that the issue of the Syrian refugees is not only Turkey's problem, the country may not receive the promised funds from the EU in the end.
Given all this, one can say that at this moment Turkey is a leading country in rendering humanitarian aid to the Syrian refugees.
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Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Arabic news service, follow him on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
