Director of Communications Prof Fahrettin Altun stated: “Some European countries have considered refugees as a security threat not as human beings. Turkish people have done the opposite by opening their hearts to millions of fellow Syrians, Iraqis, Afghanis, and others. We will continue to do our part even if they do not!”
Prof Altun shared the following statement from the social networking site Twitter, regarding the first Global Refugee Forum hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva and co-chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Prof Altun emphasized that Turkey had been leading international efforts to address the biggest challenge of our time, and said “The global refugee crisis is challenging everyone who cares about humanitarianism. Turkey is hosting 4 million refugees and helping hundreds of thousands of IDPs in Syria and Iraq. We’re helping those in need not only in our region but around the world.”
Prof Altun noted that the global humanitarian crisis required a large-scale international effort, and stated the following:
“We are helping & we are leading! Some European countries have considered refugees as a security threat not as human beings. Turkish people have done the opposite by opening their hearts to millions of fellow Syrians, Iraqis, Afghanis, and others. We will continue to do our part even if they do not! The international support has been dismal to say the least. This is shameful when we have mobilized our national resources over the past 8 years. It is high time for the international community to come together and follow Turkey’s lead in supporting refugees around the world.”