A South African relief organisation is using the blessed month of Ramadan to travel to Turkey to provide aid to refugees living on the border between Syria and Turkey. With almost two million refugees from Syria currently living in Turkey, the situation in Syria is said to be dire; but yet the refugees dream of one day being able to go back to their homes.

The Jamiatul Ulama KZN Syrian Relief team has been based in Hatay and Antakya for a 10 day period in which they are conducting their relief efforts in the refugee camps. This is the organisations fourth project since 2013 and the current relief team from South Africa is nine members strong.

“It has been an eye opener for the members of our team and this is the first time we have ladies accompany our mission,” Ahmed Mohamedi of Jamiatul Ulama explained.

Right now on the borders the organisation is working with refugees, which includes families and orphans as well as women that have been widowed as a result of war.

“It really is a human catastrophe. This war has displaced an entire nation, an entire country,” Mohamedi went further.

“The devastating effect of the war is really being felt and the human toll is unimaginable.”

Jamiatul Ulama has partnered with the IHH which is the largest humanitarian relief organisation in Turkey and their primary focus right now is food distribution as well as clothing distribution to people in need. The relief team is currently also going door to door visiting families door to door in impoverished areas.

“The children have been the victims of severe trauma and have witnessed too much violence in the little lives,” Mohamedi remarked.

“We (Jamiatul Ulama) have visited a bakery run by the IHH that produces 170 000 packets of bread a day which is delivered into Syria directly via a transport network”.

No end to the conflict

It is said now that four in five Syrian are living in poverty with 11 million people already having fled their homes, half of the population pre-uprising.

“It is s a very sad situation with no answers, no one can give anyone an indication of when the conflict will end,” Mohamedi continued.

“The resilience of the Syrian people is something that we admire all of them seem to have a desire to return to their home.”

The projects undertaken by Jamiatul Ulama are largely funded by the South African community and donations to the organisation to aid in their relief can be done via information found on their website. jamiat.org.za VOC (Umarah Hartley)