Caritas Turkey is busy providing material and psychological aids at the borders between Turkey and Syria, where over 10,100 refugees from Syria are crammed up in five camps. “Most of them are women, children and old people, plus hundreds of injured people – as told today to SIR by Chiara Rambaldi, a humanitarian worker on the team of Caritas Turkey -. Access to the camps is forbidden, but we have inside contacts who tell us what they need most: they need sanitary kits, toys, food and clothes. But they will be distributed by the Red Crescent, which is running the camps and is putting up tents in the area all the time”. The lack of men among the refugees is arousing suspicions: “Maybe they are having problems reaching the border, maybe they have been arrested or maybe they sent their women, children and old people ahead and they are waiting for the situation to develop”. Rambaldi explains that so far “just about ten non-governmental organisations and some journalists could see the condition of the camps during a visit organised by the authorities, so it is difficult to really know what they need. We sent someone who has contacts outside”.

“The Turkish government and the organisations seem to be working well and quickly – the worker of Caritas Turkey says –, in compliance with international agreements. The border is actually kept open”. So far, the Turkish government is giving the refugees an ID sheet. People are coming from Jisr al-Sughur, a Syrian city 20 km from the Turkish border, and are cramming up in the Turkish city of Hatay (Antakya). “The flow is rising – Rambaldi explains – and we have heard about abuse, unjustified arrests and duress taking place. Unfortunately, it is not easy to check if it is true, because journalists are banned from Syria”. “What we are worried about – she points out – are the psychological state of the people who live in the camps. We will try to also give aids to the Syrians who get to Istanbul and who will need help in applying for political asylum”. Caritas Turkey is in touch with the main humanitarian organisations. According to information from the Red Crescent, there are 112 emergency health-care facilities and ambulances near the camps.

© www.agensir.it - 24 giugno 2011