Turkey receives 2015 Humanitarian Award for hosting refugees

WASHINGTON - Anadolu Agency

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Turkey has received an award from the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. for its humanitarian efforts towards Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) presented the 2015 Humanitarian Award to the Turkish ambassador to the U.S., Serdar Kılıç, during an annual ceremony of the organization on Oct. 17.

Thanking CAIR for its efforts to stand in solidarity with Muslims throughout their 21 years of existence, Kılıç noted the brotherly feelings of CAIR for Turkey and its people made the award “much more valuable.”

The award was attributed to Turkey for its role in hosting currently more than 2.2 million Syrian refugees and 200,000 Iraqi refugees since 2011.

“Just to give an example in this regard, over the course of the last four years, Turkey has taken more refugees [counting only Syrians] than the U.S. has taken in thirty years,” Kılıç said.

Noting that Turkey has accepted refugees regardless of their ethnicity or religion, Kılıç noted the country has allocated some $7.6 billion for refugees since the war broke out four years ago in Syria.

“The international community failed to give assistance to the Syrian people who are fighting for their dignity, in Turkey or in the European states,” the ambassador stated.