Ankara, Turkey The Syrian civil war has been a burden to the nation and its neighbours. Apart from the high casualty rate, the huge number of refuges migrating to neighbouring countries has generated a serious crisis in the region. Syria’s neighbours are forced to bear the brunt of the fall out of the war, and that has left a debilitating mark on the local economies of those countries. In the case of Turkey, the unrest has bled its economy about $5.6 billion since 2011 and still counting. As at today, Ahmet Erdem, Turkish Minister of Labour and Social Security, told the magazine that over two million Syrians have migrated to the country and a lot of them have been accepted into the system. Erdem explained that his ministry understands that high unemployment rate is a risk to any economy and decided to assist and empower several Syrians that seek refuge in Turkey. According to him, the country established accredited testing institutions where the refugees are encouraged to acquire skills of their choice. After the skill acquisition, the minister stated that the people are reimbursed with grants to practice their skills. “We also encourage employers to employ them and also offer incentives for that purpose,” he said. Turkey shares a 1,200-kilometer, or 750-mile, border with Iraq and Syria. Since the civil war started four years ago, over 200, 000 people have died, while no fewer than 11 million, about half of the country’s population before the outbreak of hostility, have been forced out of their homes. Out of the 11 million people, over 7.6 million are said to be internally displaced, while over four million, mostly women and children, have fled the country. This gives Syrian the unenviable record of producing the world’s largest refugees. If the Syrian leaders are not feeling the impact of that negative contribution, their counterparts from the neighbouring countries know where it pinches, because they are the ones picking the bill. The United Nations said over 12.2 million deprived Syrians, including 5.6 million children, are in dire need of humanitarian support.
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