Under coronavirus pretext, Syrians in Turkish camp prevented from leaving for over two months

Istanbul – North-Press Agency

Syrian refugees living in the Kahraman Maraash camp in eastern Turkey complained that Turkish authorities have prevented them from leaving the camp for more than two months under the pretext of health measures related to the coronavirus, even though there are no cases of infection in the camp, according to sources inside it.

Abu Mustafa al-Najjar, one of the residents of the old camp, told North-Press Agency that he has “been detained in the camp for more than 65 days, and the majority of people there are low-income and they want to go out to work to secure their daily food.”
Kahraman Maraash camp, according to al-Najjar, houses more than 10,000 Syrian refugees from various Syrian governorates.

"As for living in the camp, it is very difficult. The majority of refugees depend on the Red Crescent card, which is valued at 100 TL for each family member per month. Every person must spend it at the “Pim”, a supermarket in which not everything that a family needs is available. This is in addition to high prices, which are not consistent with their purchasing power due to unemployment,” al-Najjar added.

Refugees have been prevented from leaving to secure their needs, and anyone who exits is quarantined for a period of 20 days instead of the standard 14, although there are no cases of coronavirus infection in the camp. In addition to this, the quarantine on the city of Kahraman Maraash has been lifted by the Turkish government, according to what health authorities announced earlier.

Al-Najjar pointed out that "people no longer have the money to buy their daily necessities; even our children are naked and barefoot. Our fans do not work in such high temperatures, and despite our calls, the demand to look at our situation is that there is no life for those who call."

He explained that the only demand of the camp’s residents was the "opening the door of the camps so that people can go out to find work, like the rest of the camps in Turkish cities. However, everyone has been avoiding helping us. "

Syrians in the city of Kahraman Maraash suffer from much harassment by Turks, who attack them and their property, causing huge losses, in addition to demonstrations demanding the expulsion of Syrians from the city.