Turkish PM proud of hosting 2 million refugees

Turkey’s prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said he was proud of being the premier of a country currently hosting two million refugees, as the world’s richest countries failed to accommodate Syrians fleeing violence from their homeland.

“As Turkey, we have been trying to grab the world’s attention by making ourselves heard for the last four years that there is a humanitarian crisis in Syria. Millions of refugees, millions of children, women and elderly are victims of an oppressive regime as well as of terror organizations. I stand here proud as the prime minister of a country that hosts 2 million of refugees: 1.7 million Syrians and around 200,000 Iraqis,” Davutoğlu said at the B20 Turkey Conference in Ankara. 

Davutoğlu added that despite its relatively small economy, Turkey spent more than $6 billion in the last four years for refugees.

“I want to make this call to world leaders, intellectuals, and the business world from this country hosting more refugees than any other country in the world: Please think about refugees," Davutoğlu addressed the business people representing the G-20 countries at the conference. "Not only Syrians but those coming from Africa and other places. We should adopt an integrated strategy and should defend people’s rights by struggling against oppression. We should move hand in hand for humanity. This is a turning point for humanity and a test we’ll pass through.” 

“For the last four years, I have been trying, under my capacity as the foreign minister and now as the prime minister, with our president… to persuade world leaders for the need of the establishment of a secure zone inside Syria. We proposed a solution in which refugees would be sheltered in their homes.”

Referring to the recent photo that went viral of three year old Aylan Kurdi washed up on the coast of Turkey, Davutoğlu said, “This lifeless body is a warning signal for all of us. If Syrian children are not safe in their homes than our children in Ankara, Paris, London or New York will not be either.”