Spotlight: Int'l efforts on Syrian refugee crisis fruitless: Turkish experts

Leyla Ibrahim and her family arrived in Kilis, a southern Turkish border city, three years ago after fleeing war-torn Aleppo in northwestern Syria.

This family of 12 now lives in a single apartment whose rents are paid by the local government.

"Since I came here, I only get help from Kilis people and from the municipality," Leyla told Xinhua over the phone, adding she has not seen any single foreign civil society organization offering help in the town.

In the view of Turkish analysts, the international efforts on Syrian refugee crisis, which are based now on a perception of threat, are far from yielding a long-term solution.

The analysts urged the Western nations to develop social policies to integrate the growing number of refugees into the rest of the world rather than isolate them as a threat to their security and social structure.

The European Union countries, amid an ever-growing wave of refugees, are resorting to methods that involve sealing off their borders with razor-wire fences to prevent refugees from crossing into the continent.

In a breakthrough move in November last year, EU countries agreed to donate some 3.3 billion U.S. dollars to Turkey to help keep more than 2.5 million Syrian refugees within its borders.

The deal also includes the re-admission of all the refugees who have entered Europe via Turkey.

In addition, the NATO military bloc has joined lately in naval patrolling in Aegean Sea to prevent illegal crossings.

Analysts told Xinhua that the European countries must abandon their current policy of sealing their borders and focus instead on tapping the potentials of the refugees in term of their possible economic and social contributions.

"The current policy of the Western nations in solving the refugee problem, which is based on 'not allowing the refugees in Europe', would have serious consequences in terms of the humanitarian tragedy," said Nurcan Ozgur, a writer and scholar from Istanbul University.

In her view, closing the borders with giant fences or concrete walls would in no way help solve such a big humanitarian crisis.

The bloody conflict in Syria, which has raged on for nearly five years, has generated a humanitarian crisis not seen since World War II, as hundreds of thousands people have been killed while millions more forced to flee.

More than four million Syrians are struggling to survive in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and other neighboring countries.

Ankara alone has spent some 10 billion dollars in caring for the refugees within its borders, with eight more billion dollars needed to meet their urgent basic needs, according to the UN.

Adding to Europe's ire, many more refugees are on their way to the continent either via sea routes or on foot with the help of human smugglers.

Arrivals in the continent have reached one million while more than 3,000 have died halfway on the sea.

"Europe makes a huge mistake in considering Syrian refugee crisis as a regional issue rather than perceiving it as a global humanitarian tragedy," said Ali Semin, an analyst with the Istanbul-based think tank group BILGESAM.

"They thought that the influx would only affect the regional countries and then it would soon come to an end," he noted. "But now, the situation is just the opposite since they are pushing through European borders."

For Istanbul University's Ozgur, NATO's involvement in naval patrolling would only make things worse.

"The inclusion of a military alliance into the game will force refugees to search for more dangerous ways to sneak into European countries," she said, noting that the new routes would also be more expensive and risk raising the potential for the growing death toll.

The analysts argued that refugees should be treated according to their skills and occupations for a long-term solution.

Over 2,500 Syrian companies were incorporated last year in Turkey. They are doing businesses, generating income and transferring money to Turkish banks.

"Now Turkey has managed to get advantages from Syrians," Ozgur said, stressing that Europe should learn from Turkey and do the same.

The analysts referred to the shortcomings in the EU-Turkey refugee deal, stating that none of the aspects of the agreement is applicable.

For Ozgur, the re-admission policy is far from being applicable.

"It is useless, because once a refugee enters into the desired country, he or she will make themselves invisible, disappear in the plain sight."

Semin described the European efforts as incompetent, saying the amount of 3.3 billion dollars in aid is far from meeting the basic needs of refugees.

Early this month, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus accused the Western world of watching the crisis silently while Turkey was doing its part.

With fighting and shelling still raging inside Syria, more civilians are being displaced.

Around 77,000 refugees have accumulated at the Syrian side of the border, with the Turkish authorities expecting many more to come.

Kilis, a city of 90,000, has been hosting over 125,000 refugees since the war erupted in Syria, draining its resources fast.

Mayor Hasan Kara told Xinhua over the phone that his city even cannot predict anymore how many refugees would turn up in town one hour later.

The city needs 100 million euros (110 million dollars) for this summer alone to upgrade its sewer system, water purification system and water storage tanks.

"I hereby call on the international community to share the burden with us," Kara said.

In Kilis, three Syrian families are sharing one apartment while those who are not that lucky are living in parks or on the streets in open air.

"There is no single room left either for Turkish citizens or for the refugees," the mayor noted.

Leyla's aunt fled to Greece with daughters last year from Turkey's western province of Izmir on a boat, the most popular route for the refugees.

"I wouldn't do that because I fear sea," the 21-year-old said, adding that one day when the war is over, she hopes to return to her home. Endit