Compassion needs to be part of solution to refugee challenge, says Doğan chairwoman

Gonca Yağcı – LONDON

Compassion and understanding need to be part of the world’s solution to the refugee challenge, Doğan Holding Chairwoman Begümhan Doğan Faralyalı has said. 

“We cannot solve this problem [the refugee crises] with just numbers in our minds. We also need to use our hearts. Compassion and understanding need to be a part of the solution that we are looking for,” said Doğan Faralyalı at a forum named “Immigration in Europe: Balancing Politics, Security and Compassion,” organized by the Milken Institute in London on Dec. 6. 

“Until we feel the pains of the refugees in our hearts we will not reach a real solution. We as humanity sail in the same boat,” she added. 

Doğan Faralyalı said the fate of refugees should not be left to the hands of just a few countries, “as the world is getting smaller and smaller every day.” 

“We need to learn to find a joint solution,” she said, also warning that climate change could in future create a new wave of displaced immigrants. 

Hosting around 3 million refugees, Turkey is the country that currently hosts the most refugees in the world, according to the United Nations. While 2.7 million of them are from war-torn neighboring Syria, the rest are mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Doğan Faralyalı noted that only around 250,000 refugees out of the total of 3 million lived in refugee camps and the rest lived in cities and towns across the country, with some places being home to more Syrian refugees than Turkish citizens. 

Even though there is sometimes tension, there has never been a major negative reaction against refugees in Turkey, she said.

“Helping the one who is in need is a very important value for the Turkish people. So we do not see a reaction against refugees in Turkey,” she added. 

“I am proud of my country,” Doğan Faralyalı also stated, referring to Turkey’s open-door policy for fleeing Syrians.