Therapy for Syrians

Malatya (AA) - Nearly 4,000 Syrians fled into Turkey from Aleppo over the last three days amid increased fighting between rebels and the Assad regime. Turkey continues to welcome refugees and offer therapy to children traumatized by the war Air strikes by regime forces in rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo and its surrounds are forcing hundreds of civilians to flee into Turkey daily.

About 4,000 Syrians, mostly women, children, the elderly and wounded, crossed into Turkey over the past three days through the Cilvegözü border crossing in the southern Turkish province of Hatay.

Aleppo is constantly under threat of infamous barrel bombings with no signs that the conflict, which began in 2011, will let up. Carrying few possessions, Syrians travel to Turkey on foot or by car after an arduous journey. On the border, some of them are welcomed by their relatives who have already taken shelter in Turkey.

While those not wounded in the conflict manage to survive the hazardous journey to Turkey amid lethal attacks and clashes, those heavily wounded in the conflict often succumb to their injuries once they reach Turkey. On Sunday, 2 out of 30 Syrians died after they were brought to the Turkish hospital in the border town of Reyhanlı. One of them was a 20-day-old infant.

The suffering of Syrians doesn't end when they manage to flee their war-torn country; they face an uncertain future in Turkey, with no end in sight for the conflict back home.

Still, Turkey offers the best services for Syrians in refugee camps and has been praised by the international community for its efforts.
The Turkish government refers to the refugees in Turkey as guests.

For instance, children of Syrian families who have taken shelter in a refugee camp in the southeastern Turkish province of Malatya receive music and art therapy to help them deal with the trauma of war.

To reduce the adverse effects of the war on children, courses were opened at Beydagı refugee camp where families live in containers converted into small houses.

During those courses, children are taught to play instruments such as the baglama, a three-string Turkish folk instrument. "The kids are talented; some of them sing songs in Turkish. They look so happy. I think they are getting better with music,"
Kürsat Çelik, a Turkish baglama tutor, said.

There are 16 children in the music course and they will undergo six-month training to learn how to play the baglama. Mariyana Bakmisli, 15, is one of Çelik's students. She came to the refugee camp with her family from Hama. "I want to sing for my country too. I love Turkey very much. The Turkish people look after us very well. Therefore, we want to do all we can do for Turkey," Bakmisli said. Along with music, children are taught to paint at the Beydagı camp as part of the art therapy project.

Beydagı refugee camp opened on June 12, 2013 and hosts 7,200 refugees. It is one of 22 refugee camps located near the border with Syria, along with camps in Gaziantep, Hatay and Kilis. Turkey currently shelters approximately 210,000 Syrians in those refugee camps. Together with those outside of the refugee camps, the number of Syrians who've fled to Turkey now exceeds 714,000.

In the years since the conflict in Syria erupted, Turkey has spent $2.5 billion on hosting refugees. Turkey is estimated to be hosting about 25 percent of the 2.5 million Syrians displaced due to the conflict.