Page 49 - Syrians in Türkiye - Special Report

GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TÜRKİYE THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

an international meeting, the digital platform management system of AFAD cities was
awarded for being a successful model in Colombia in 2015. The Disaster Temporary
City Management System (AFKEN) used in AFAD cities was awarded 1st prize in the
United Nations 2015 Public Service Awards. An American newspaper, The New York
Times, published an article called “How to Set Up an Excellent Camp” after visiting
the shelter centers in Türkiye and described these sheltering centers as ‘5- star camps’.

In addition, healthcare and education services are provided free of charge to the Syrians
that reside across the country, not only to the ones in the Temporary Accommodation
Centers; necessary social assistance is provided to people in need; access to the job
market for all registered Syrians is provided; and also various courses and psycho-social
support activities including Turkish lessons are organized by many institutions and
organizations for these people.

When the general data on the educational services provided to the Syrians in our
country are examined, a very striking picture emerges. A Ministry of National
Education memorandum dated August 14, 2017 states that in total 492,544 Syrian
children benefited from the education and training services; this number is even higher
than the population of countries such as Malta or Iceland. As can be seen here, in
such countries where the national per capita income is much higher, even the total
population being educated is below the number of Syrians who are educated in our
country. Likewise, data on the health services provided to Syrians who have come to our
country is extremely important for understanding the effort Türkiye has put forward in
this regard and the costs of it. According to a Ministry of Health memorandum dated
August 18, 2017, from the year 2011, when Syrians began to enter the country, to July 1,
2017, 28,685,499 examinations were carried out, 1,231,840 patients were hospitalized,
1,034,073 Syrians were operated on, and 248,462 Syrian babies were delivered in
hospitals. The approximately 250,000 Syrian births in Türkiye account for more than
the entire population of the capital cities of some EU countries, like Slovenia.

SYRIANS IN TÜRKİYE SPECIAL REPORT 49