Syrian ‘refugees’ in Turkey headed home to
celebrate Muslim holiday, by Ann Corcoran
6/20/17
….and some plan to stay in Syria! So,
good news on World Refugee Day, right! Syrians want to go home, so why is the UN
distributing them around the world?
From Reuters (hat tip: Diane): Carrying suitcases, shopping bags and
toddlers, thousands of refugees walked back home into Syria from Turkey on
Thursday ahead of the Eid festival that marks the end of the Muslim holy month
of Ramadan.
Turkey has taken in some 3 million
Syrian migrants since the start of civil war in 2011, making it home to the
world’s largest refugee population.
Now Ankara is giving Syrian refugees
the right to return to Turkey within a month if they want to go home to
celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Some said they wanted to start again in their homeland, and would
return within the month if it did not work out, while others said they wanted
to return to Syria for good, citing the difficulty of finding employment in
Turkey.
Authorities did not give any figures
on how many Syrians have returned so far. A Reuters witness said at least 3,000 people
crossed on foot through the dusty Cilvegozu border crossing into Syria during
several hours on Thursday.
The offer to return applies to
Syrian nationals with valid travel documents who cross through the Cilvegozu
and Oncupinar border gates, authorities said. The Eid al-Fitr holiday begins on
June 25. Those who wish to return can do so until July 14.
Anyone who comes back after that
will be treated as new arrival and subject to the regular immigration process,
a local official at the Hatay governor’s office said.
Authorities say thousands of Syrians have since
returned to Syrian towns freed from Islamic State. So that must mean it wasn’t Bashar al-Assad’s government
they were running from in the first place! More here.
You should know that the majority of
the refugees being processed in to the US right now, by the Trump State
Department, are coming in through Turkey.
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