ON A recent evening Kamil Gerecci, a former politician in the southern city of Gaziantep, stopped at a traffic light in the centre of town. A few weeks earlier in the neighbouring town of Nizip, a Turkish army-vehicle pulled up by a young woman as she walked near an open field. Her ordeal risks being repeated as thousands of Syrian refugees continue to flock to Turkey, a combination of war and local violence that was the subject of a conference in London last week see article.
The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey is estimated at nearly 1m and is likely to rise to 1. In the town of Kilis, Syrians now outnumber locals. Syrian restaurants are a common sight. So too are Syrians who beg, collect rubbish and shine shoes. Orphaned girls and war widows without male relatives to protect them are among the most vulnerable targets.
A probe was launched and the woman was moved to a different camp. Their tormentors know this and use it against them. Children are being exploited, too. Despite their many trials, most Syrians say they feel welcome in Turkey. But their welcome may be wearing thin. The International Crisis Group, a think-tank, observed in a recent report that in Gaziantep, hospitality was turning into hostility. Many locals believe that crime was rising because of the Syrians.
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