Shelling fails to dampen spirits in Turkey's Kilis

By Hatice Kesgin

Kilis province on Syrian border KILIS, Turkey

Residents of Turkey’s Kilis province on Syrian border experience hardships in the aftermath of the recent shelling between Syrian PYD and Turkish army, but it does not affect their resolve to help Syrian refugees, provincial governor told Anadolu Agency.

In an interview Monday, Kilis Governor Suleyman Tapsiz said the sound of artillery rounds across the border province affects residents, where now a large number of Syrian refugees live alongside Turks.

“They've been through bombings and noise that worries them when they are at home,” Tapsiz said.

Residents also fear that shells from across the border in Syria may hit them.

“The Kilis residents cannot sleep amid intense bombing noises and they worry about possibility of falling balls and bullets [fired by PYD into Turkey],” he added.

In January, a rocket attack from Syria hit a public school in Kilis, prompting the governorate to hold several meetings with the residents to explain the latest developments around the city and to calm down their nerves, Tapsiz said.

However, the recent attack makes families think twice before sending their children to schools, he added.

But while they may live in fear, residents of Kilis continue to open up their hearts to the Syrian refugees, who have arrived in their thousands to the small border province.

“When they first arrived in the the city center, they started to stay in public parks and mosque courtyards due to lack of housing [and lack of rental units] instead of refugee camps,” the governor said.

But now, he said, no Syrian remained homeless in Kilis, adding that the province’s housing units doubled within four years to accommodate the refugees.

According to official statistics, 93,000 Turks and 87,000 Syrians are registered in Kilis city center. The presence of large numbers of Syrians showed the hospitality of Kilis residents, the governor said.

“Kilis is a wonderful example of how to host guests. Population of Syrians in Kilis is now at 127,000, while around 87,000 Syrians live in the city center,” the governor added.

Tapsiz described his city as a reflection of brotherhood between two Muslim communities, which is reminiscent of Ansar and Muhajir community ties during Prophet Muhammed’s time. “The atmosphere of the city of Kilis looks like Ansar -- Muhajir brotherhood relations. Turkish families and Syrians live together in peace,” he said.

He also said that the presence of such large numbers of refugees had not changed the crime rate in the province significantly. “The crime rate of Kilis city has not changed; the crime rate has been the same since five years,” he added.

He also highlighted the activities of the charity foundation, Altin Hilal Hareketi (Golden Crescent Movement), which was jointly founded in 2014 by Syrians and Turks.

“The foundation is yet another significant example of how two different communities can work together to help innocent people and Syrian civil war victims,” he said.

The foundation also organizes wedding ceremonies among several other charitable initiatives.

Turkey continues to host the world’s largest refugee population. According to Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, about three million refugees from Syria and Iraq live in Turkey.

Syria’s devastating civil war, now in its fifth year, has left at least 250,000 people dead, according to the UN.