Syrians in the Nizip Refugee Camp are thankful for Turkey’s open-handed hospitality. For one thing, the 10,500 people in Nizip, around 50km from the Syrian border, don’t feel so far from the war-rocked homes they fled, mostly in 2012.
A young man told us confidently: “We are staying here temporarily, until the crisis in Syria is resolved, and then we will go home. There are no problems here. We are safe here.”
The Turkish government, which manages Nizip, gives families a debit card they can use to buy market goods inside the camp. All the refugees are registered, and are authorised to leave the camp from 3-7pm each day, and may work outside it. There are also two schools and an infirmary.
Resident Taha Mendu told us: “Some of my friends left just after Ramadan. There were also some young people who wanted to follow them, but then they realised that there was a conspiracy to empty Syria of its population.”
We asked Mendu, who is originally from Idlib, a key battle ground in Syr