Turkey allows refugees to visit families in Syria during Ramadan

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Family gatherings are a big part of Ramadan's tradition, and for the millions of refugees spread across Turkey, meeting with their families back in Syria is even more meaningful.

The Turkish government has allowed Syrian refugees to cross the border and visit their families back home during the holy month of Ramadan. Syrians who take advantage of this opportunity will be allowed to return to Turkey by July 14.

Osman Talay, board member of humanitarian relief foundation IHH, told CGTN’s Michal Bardavid that the biggest issue for Syrians is no longer shelter.

“They have solved this problem. For Syrians across the world now, the issue is work and education.”

Despite the challenges, Talay stresses that violent and criminal activities by Syrians in Turkey have been at minimal levels.

Talay said, "Three million people are living in a country where they don’t speak the language, and even though they face economic and cultural difficulties, crime is at around 0.12 percent," calling the situation "significant.”

With the support of EU funding, the Turkish government has been working to improve living conditions for Syrians with projects being implemented each year, especially in health services. Another sector is education, where officials aim to increase the number of children receiving education in 2017.