This is your home: Turkey's Gormez tells refugees

By Ertugrul Subasi

ANKARA (AA) - This is your home and your country, Turkey’s top religious figure told Syrian refugees during a visit to a center in Ankara, where the war-affected people receive vocational and Turkish language education.

The refugees are getting their education from the Social Support and Education Centre in central Altindag district, founded by Turkish Diyanet Foundation Women, Family and Youth Centre (KAGEM).

Mehmet Gormez, head of the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), told them: "Do not see yourselves as guests in this country. This is your home and this is your country."

Gormez said Turkey has done this for them as their duty as human beings, Muslims and neighbors.

He hoped they would be able to return to their country happily and rebuild their civilization in Damascus, Aleppo and whole of Syria once again.

Gormez also met KAGEM Chairwoman Hicret Toprak and visited the classes at the center. Syrian refugees presented to Gormez paintings they drew of Turkey and Syria, and also showed him letters they wrote in Turkish.

Turkey now hosts some 3 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world. The country has spent around $25 billion helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

Syria has been locked in a devastating 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, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.