Large-scale aid campaign for Syrian refugees launched in İstanbul

Around 300 nongovernmental organizations on yesterday jointly launched an aid campaign at a ceremony in Istanbul to provide food and shelter from the cold to Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey and other countries due to the ongoing acts of violence in their country.The campaign, titled "Winter is coming… Bread and Blankets for Syria," is the first in Turkey of this scope. Religious Affairs Directorate President Mehmet Gormez and Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay attended the inauguration ceremony, held at the Halic Congress Center. The arrival of winter means Syrian refugees in Turkey now have to struggle with harsh weather conditions. They have been suffering from a lack of hot food and clothes and blankets that can protect them against the freezing temperatures since the start of winter. Speaking at the event, Atalay said "Aid campaign will be well coordinated and this aid did not have a political dimension, but rather they acted with a humanitarian motivation. This aid is not for our Syrian brothers who sought asylum in Turkey. The campaign mainly targets the deprived people of Syria,".