- Title: Migrants in Turkey long to return to Syria
- Date: 10th April 2017
- Summary: REYHANLI, TURKEY (APRIL 8, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING ON STREETS VARIOUS OF SYRIANS HELPING A MAN ON WHEELCHAIR WOMEN AND CHILDREN GATHERED OUTSIDE HEALTH CLINIC VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM IDLIB, AHMAD MUSTAFA, STANDING WITH A MAN SYRIAN WOMAN HOLDING HER BABY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM IDLIB, AHMAD MUSTAFA, SAYING: "Allah Almighty, no one knows what is going to happen. But it is war, a playground for war and whoever is coming in is hitting Syria. Allah Almighty has handed this to us and we are waiting for Allah Almighty's hope." WOMEN WAITING OUTSIDE THE HEALTH CLINIC (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM IDLIB, AHMAD MUSTAFA, SAYING: "They are helping the people here with anything medical, like the chemical attack where people are now going into this medical centre. They are helping them, they didn't hit the Syrian people or any chemical attack like what Russia and America are doing." REYHANLI, TURKEY (APRIL 7, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE SAMIAL DUDE, SITTING ON BENCH WITH HIS RELATIVES SYRIAN MEN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE, SAMIAL DUDE, SAYING: "Because these are Syrian children and women and villages are being hit which don't have armed men but using the excuse of terrorists, they are attacking us with their planes and rockets." SYRIAN MEN AT CHECK-IN DESK AS SEEN BEHIND BARS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE, SAMIAL DUDE, SAYING: "To this day we are being attacked by Russian planes and government planes. There's no home for us, no work for us, our children are being denied schooling, we are being denied, an animal that lives in a pit is living better than the Syrian people." CILVEGOZU, TURKEY (APRIL 8, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES WAITING AT CILVEGOZU BORDER GATE REYHANLI, TURKEY (APRIL 8, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE, GACEEL AL-AWAAD, SAYING: "We hope our villages will be safe enough for us to return. If there is help in getting the villages safe, this would be excellent for the Syrian people." SYRIAN WOMAN TALKING ON PHONE CILVEGOZU, TURKEY (APRIL 7, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRUCKS CROSSING THROUGH CILVEGOZU BORDER GATE ACROSS SYRIA'S BAB AL-HAWA CROSSING VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF CILVEGOZU BORDER GATE SIGN OF CILVEGOZU BORDER GATE
- Embargoed: 24th April 2017 11:18
- Keywords: Turkey Syria migrants conflict refugees
- Location: REYHANLI AND CILVEGOZU, TURKEY
- City: REYHANLI AND CILVEGOZU, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA0016BTFXHX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: **EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: AUDIO AS INCOMING**
Ahmad Mustafa fled northern Syria to Turkey four months ago, badly injuring his hand along the way.
But while the free healthcare he gets as a refugee is helping him heal, Mustafa and many of the nearly 3 million Syrian migrants who have fled to Turkey are gradually losing hope for their war-ravaged homeland.
Mustafa is part of what Ankara says is the world's largest refugee population, many of whom barely scrape out a living in places like Reyhanli, a dusty border town in the southern Hatay province that teems with Syrian refugees and where some signs in shop windows are printed in both Arabic and Turkish.
"Allah Almighty, no one knows what is going to happen. But it is war, a playground for war and whoever is coming in is hitting Syria. Allah Almighty has handed this to us and we are waiting for Allah Almighty's hope," said Mustafa.
Ankara has also set up refugee camps on the Syrian side of the border and the Turkish Red Crescent estimates it is providing aid to around 5 million people inside Syria.
But while a U.S. missile strike against a Syrian government air base this week may have kindled some optimism that Washington could step up pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, refugees in Reyhanli do not expect to be able to go home soon.
"Because these are Syrian children and women, and villages are being hit which don't have armed men but using the excuse of terrorists, they are attacking us with their planes and rockets," said Samial Dude, a former truck driver from the area around rebel-held Idlib, who also now lives in Hatay.
The United States fired missiles at a Syrian air base on Friday (April 8) in retaliation for a chemical attack that killed 87 people, including children, in the northwest Idlib province.
Both Washington and Ankara blame the Syrian government for the poison gas attack, but Damascus has denied responsibility.
Gaceel al Awaad, who earns about 30 lira (8 USD) a day working in fields, almost all of which goes to pay rent, is hopeful he can one day return to his homeland.
"We hope our villages will be safe enough for us to return. If there is help in getting the villages safe, this would be excellent for the Syrian people," said al Awaad.
Six years of civil war have killed an estimated half a million people and set new standards of savagery for civilians, with half of Syria's population uprooted in the world's biggest refugee crisis. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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