The Turkish government has set up summer camps specifically for Syrian Christians in the Midyat district of Mardin, in southeast Turkey.
However the camp has failed to attract Christian families, other than two, and a number of displaced Syrian Arabs and Turkmen who are now living in it.
A media advisor to emergency and disaster management team of the Prime Ministry of Turkey, Mustafa Aydogdu, clarified that the camp was established specifically for Christians in the region at the request of the displaced Syriac Syrian community, who chose that area because it is where Christians in Turkey predominate. Aydogdu the camp is located directly behind a monastery known as Mar Abraham.
Aydogdu said the camp covers an area of about 1.3 kilometers and has a capacity for 6,500 people in 2,000 tents. There are currently 3,110 displaced Syrians, Arabs and Turkmen there who in addition to shelter, receive food and drink, health care, educational courses for children and courses for handicrafts and arts for adults.
The Director of the Assyrian Democratic Organization in Istanbul, Jamil Diyarbakirli said they agree with the idea of receiving Christians “in a dignified way”, if there were cases of mass exodus, even if it means the establishment of special camps.
But he said the construction of this camp by the Turkish government was premature, because establishing it raised fears more than assured Christians because it is a sign of the possibility of further deterioration of the sectarian security situation in Syria.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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