(15 Mar 2021) The president of the Turkish Red Crescent says that the aid organization, which is helping 8 million displaced Syrians both in Turkey and Syria, has yet to see the "light at the end of the tunnel".
Kerem Kinik on Monday spoke of his organization's endeavours in Syria and Turkey as the Syrian civil war marks its 10th anniversary.
"We are witnessing the tenth year of the biggest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War and what's left of this crisis is pain, tears, sorrow and depression," Kinik told the the Associated Press, describing the massive displacements that have occurred as a result of the violence in Syria over the past decade.
Kinik said although the Red Crescent has been doing its best to alleviate the suffering, the sheer number of the displaced and horrifying realities of the crisis mean he can see "no light at the end of the tunnel" yet.
The Turkish Red Crescent started their relief efforts back in 2011, said Kinik, at first at the borders of Syria and Turkey, by setting up shelters for the displaced.
Their efforts have expanded to include both cross-border relief as well as aid to those now living in Turkey and in Syria.
He said that his organization is "regularly" giving aid to four million migrants in Turkey and another four million displaced in Syria.
As Syria marks the 10th anniversary Monday of the start of its uprising-turned-civil war, President Bashar Assad may still be in power, propped up by Russia and Iran.
But millions of people are being pushed deeper into poverty, and a majority of households can hardly scrape together enough to secure their next meal.
The decade of war has wreaked unfathomable destruction on Syria.
Nearly half a million people have been killed and more than half the pre-war population of 23 million displaced, whether inside or outside the country's borders, the world's worst displacement crisis since World War II.
The country's infrastructure is in ruins.
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