Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu
Turkish security forces have held some 251,794 irregular migrants so far this year, the country’s interior minister said on Monday.
Speaking at the Intergovernmental Conference on Global Compact for Migration in Morocco, Süleyman Soylu said: “There is an increase of 56 percent compared to the figures of the first 11 months of last year.”
Turkey also deported some 53,860 people and nabbed 5,522 human smugglers this year, he added.
Turkey has been the main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Syria.
Turkey’s state aid agency has donated 16 tons of food aid for displaced people in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the agency said on Sunday. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) said it provided around 16 tons -- 700 packages -- of basic needs, including pasta, rice, tunafish, and cheese for families displaced by conflict in the region, said a TIKA statement. A ceremony was held to deliver the aid to the Libyan Red Crescent in Tripoli.The aid was given after the Libyan Red Crescent told TIKA of its dwindling resources, saying that it needed various staples for civilians evacuated from conflict zones. TIKA is also expected to provide personnel training as well as uniforms and technical support for the Libyan Red Crescent. Libya has remained dogged by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of long-serving President Muammar Gaddafi. Currently, two rival seats of power are vying for supremacy in Libya: an internationally recognized national unity government based in Tripoli, and a government supported by a legislative assembly based in the eastern city of Tobruk.
Turkey donates 16 tons of food aid to Libya
Among the migrants held in 2017 in Turkey, the majority came from Pakistan, followed by Afghans and Syrians.
During his speech, the interior minister also noted Turkey hosts over 3.6 million Syrians under “temporary protection” status and provides education to 916,074 of them every year.
Turkey has spent more than $32 billion from its own national resources for helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.
After a Turkish aid group paid for life-changing surgery to give her prosthetic legs, an 8-year-old Syrian refugee girl on Saturday left Turkey walking tall, living out her greatest dream. Maya Meri lacks working legs due to a congenital condition, and had to struggle to walk using spare tin cans attached by her father until this June, when the Turkish Red Crescent brought her to Turkey. Months later, on Saturday Maya and Ali Meri, her father, returned to the Ser Ceble refugee camp in Idlib, northwestern Syria after the successful treatment, accompanied by a delegation from the Turkish Red Crescent. The Syrian girl got global attention when Anadolu Agency reporters based in Idlib shared her story with the world on June 21, which led to the Turkish Red Crescent offering her a helping hand. "I have one dream, that is to walk," she told Anadolu Agency over the summer. Her father told Anadolu Agency that he was grateful to everyone involved in her treatment."We got the prostheses thanks to them. We thank all those who made our lives easier. Maya is so happy to have prostheses. We would like to thank the Turkish government," he said. Kadir Akgunduz, the Turkish Red Crescent's Syria field coordinator, said that they began to take care of Maya some five months ago."Today, she rejoined her family on her feet," he said. Akgunduz said Maya was happy with her siblings, adding that the Turkish Red Crescent would give her family further assistance. Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed or displaced in the conflict, mainly by regime airstrikes targeting opposition-held areas.
In Turkey, disabled Syrian girl's dreams come true
A late Turkish soldier who befriended an orphaned 5-year-old girl in the midst of Korean War was remembered in Chicago on Friday.Süleyman Dilbirliği, 91, passed away last year.He was serving as a sergeant fighting in Korea when he discovered Eunja Kim wandering alone.Giving her the Turkish name Ayla, he cared for her for more than a year until he was shipped back to Turkey and she was sent to an orphanage.The pair were separated for half-a-century until 2010, when South Korean officials reunited Suleyman and Eunja after hearing his story at an event to mark the 60th anniversary of the war. On the first anniversary of his demise, Turkey's Consulate General in Chicago and Chicago’s prestigious Gene Siskel Film Center held a screening of an acclaimed Turkish movie "Ayla: The Daughter of War."The movie tells Dilbirligi's story of adopting the Korean orphan.The special film screening event was sponsored by Yunus Emre Institute of Turkey.Attending the event were Consul General Umut Acar, Yunus Emre Institute's U.S. Director Halid Bulut, Director of Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Stephen Curda as well as consul generals from several countries and Korean veterans.Speaking ahead of the screening, Acar hailed the courage and determination of Turkish soldiers in the 1950-1953 Korean War.Acar said the movie "highlights the story of heroism and humanitarian values of Sergeant Suleyman. Today is also the anniversary of his demise. We hereby commemorate all our martyrs and thank our veterans."He thanked those who participated in the event.Bulut, for his part, said the movie reveals "benevolent treatment of the Turkish people to the ones who are oppressed even under war conditions".Turkish troops served under UN command during the 1950-53 war and 774 Turkish soldiers were martyred.Curda, who is a former American soldier, said the story of the movie meant a lot to him and thanked the Yunus Emre Institute and Chicago Consulate General of Turkey for giving an opportunity to watch the movie.
Turkish foster father of Korean war orphan remembered