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Tuesday 22 Dec 2015 - 13:51 Makkah mean time-11-3-1437
Bursa, Turkey (IINA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised on Monday the humanitarian work and the generosity of Turkey in helping hundreds of countries in five continents regardless of their religions, Anadolu Agency reported.
"Turkey has become the world's third most generous country with $4.5 billion assistance to more than 140 countries as of 2014 without discrimination", Erdogan said. "We have no oil wells, natural gas reservoirs and underground treasures. But, we have a conscience as big as Anatolia [the Asian part of Turkey]", he noted.
"Extending a hand to those who are in need without discriminating race, language, religion and sect is part of the essence of our national culture", the president added.
In his remarks, the president touched upon a letter written by a Syrian girl who called on the "Angel of Death to take her soul so she can eat in heaven since she was hungry".
Erdogan said the girl revealed to the world how "callous" its consciences have become. "Which conscience can endure such an outcry? How can small bodies of children carry heavy loads such as hunger, death and war? Who can close their eyes to despair that turns the Mediterranean into a refugee cemetery?" Erdogan asked.
Syria has been gripped by violence since the regime launched a crackdown in response to anti-government protests in March 2011, triggering a civil war in which more than 250,000 people have died. The conflict also displaced half the Syrian population, with some 4 million Syrians seeking refuge in neighboring countries, mostly in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 781,000 migrants have arrived in Greece by sea since the start of the year, mostly from Turkey. According to the UN’s refugee agency report on December 14, there were 632 deaths in the Aegean and more than 950,000 people have reached Europe by sea this year.
AG/IINA
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