Syrian refugee mother's only wish is to see her family

By Halil Fidan, Cem Genco and Kerem Kocalar

KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey (AA) – As the evacuation of civilians from the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo continues, one 65-year-old refugee mother's only wish is to see her family re-united and together once again.

Mother-of-seven Nofa Mitar is just one among the millions of Syrians who sought refuge in Turkey five years ago when her country’s civil war started.

Since then she has not only missed her country -- which she has witnessed being dragged into a violent quagmire day by day -- but also wants to have her remaining family around her. While in Syria, she lost one of her seven children.

Four of her grown children preferred to stay in Aleppo with their own families while another two moved to the southern Turkish city of Kilis. However, Nofa has not heard from her family in Aleppo for 15 days, creating huge anxiety as clashes intensified.

"I miss my children and my grandchildren," she tells Anadolu Agency. "I want to see my family together once again before I die."

Nofa’s first destination in Turkey was Gaziantep city in 2011, where she settled along with her husband, daughter-in-law and grandchild.

Later on, the family moved to a tent city in the Mediterranean Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, where Nofa's husband passed away last year.

Currently, the remaining family lives in a two-story house, called container houses, at a new refugee camp in Kahramanmaras.

The facility was built by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority in cooperation with the Turkish Prime Ministry and spreads across hundreds of square kilometers. It can shelter around 25,000 people.

-'None of the countries did what Turkey did'

The complex includes 16 public education centers, four schools, two rehabilitation centers, eight playgrounds, four football fields, four basketball courts, a mosque and a supermarket.

Being grateful to the Turkish government for the conditions created for refugees, Nofa especially thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his efforts regarding Syrians forced to flee their country.

"None of the countries did what Turkey did," she told Anadolu Agency, adding that she felt herself at home in Turkey.

"The situation now would be different if more countries had followed Turkey's path. We lost relatives, family. Our house is destroyed, Aleppo turned into a wreck. I can't tell you how beautiful the city was in the past," Nofa said.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, puts the death toll from the six-year conflict at more than 470,000 people.

Currently civilians trapped in eastern Aleppo have been allowed to go to the opposition-held city of Idlib under a cease-fire agreement secured last week by Turkey and Russia.

Since then, 37,500 people have been evacuated from the area, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 60 trucks of supplies, delivered by Turkey-based Hayrat Aid, reached Idlib on Wednesday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, President of Hayrat Aid Hakki Aygun said his team both delivered supplies to Idlib as well as welcoming the evacuated families to the city.

Aygun said an additional 500 aid trucks were ready to be sent as soon as possible.