European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
Türkiye: providing support for refugees with disabilities
Najim lost one of his legs 5 years ago when an air attack hit his village in Syria.
Fleeing the violence and looking for proper treatment, he ended up in Reyhanli, a small town on the Turkish side of the border. The local rehabilitation centre of Relief International, funded by EU humanitarian aid, helped him with a prosthesis and adapted physiotherapy.
Being mobile again, Najim could start working in his brother’s store selling baklava, knafeh, and other traditional desserts.
After a while, he even took over the shop, which became a hotspot in town. 2 days before we met Najim, he got engaged, dreaming of a prosperous future in Türkiye.
“When I decided to come to Türkiye, it took me 3 days to reach the border. I had stop often and pass by plenty of checkpoints. Luckily, the medical committee at the Turkish border quickly granted me access and brought me to the rehabilitation centre.”
The EU-funded centre has its own workshop were prostheses and other medical material is produced and adapted to the needs of the patients. Local staff – both Turkish and Syrian – take care of all technical, medical and administrative tasks.
“The economic crisis makes it hard to do business: inflation goes that fast that the ingredients I buy lose their value before I can sell my products. Moreover, I see a growing anti-Syrian sentiment. Even my store has been hit by vandalism recently.”
With EU humanitarian funding, Relief International provides specialised services including mental health support, community health interventions, physical rehabilitation, and protection and livelihood support for refugees with disabilities.
Over the past years, the health and rehabilitation centre in Reyhanli helped close to 1,500 patients with mobility aid. Another 9,000 were supported in other EU-funded centres of Relief International across Türkiye.
