2015-12-26 15:50:00

Humanitarian help for ethnic Turks in Ukraine this Christmas


(Vatican Radio)As many as 2,000 ethnic Turks living in war-torn eastern Ukraine are being repatriated by the Turkish government this Christmas season as part of a massive humanitarian operation. Many had been hiding for weeks in basements amid ongoing clashes between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces. 

Listen to Stefan Bos' report

Since Christmas Day ethnic Turks are being rushed to what they hope will be a more peaceful place. Originally from Georgia they were deported to Central Asia by Soviet leader Josef Stalin. Eventually many of these Meskhetian Turks settled in Ukraine decades ago.

More than 300 of them were brought to Turkey on two military planes. Most lived in Ukraine's Sloviansk area, where deadly fighting continues between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists.

They were flown from the city of Kharkiv to Erzincan in eastern Turkey where they will be placed in temporary housing.“We’ve been hiding in basements for days, for weeks,” said Sloviansk resident Alizar Nuriyev. “We were starving, we were worried. we had heart attacks. But we survived.”

In the coming weeks about 2000 people are expected to be repatriated...and start a New Year in Turkey where the government has promised to help them find jobs. 

MILLIONS FLEE

Yet for local resident Larisa Bagaliyeva it's difficult to leave. “Everything was fine. We got along well with our neighbours and with everyone else. It’s a pity to leave it all," she said. 

Some 2.5 million people are believed to have fled the war in the east with many seeking shelter in neighboring Russia. At least some 1.5 million of these refugees are still in Ukraine.  

The conflict, which killed more than 9,000 people since April 2014, has added to Ukraine's economic difficulties. 

However Ukraine's parliament has now approved a budget for next year including controversial tax increases, to fulfill a key demand of the International Monetary Fund for new loans. 

The IMF had warned that without a budget it would suspend its $17.5 billion bailout program. Kiev will now receive a third $1.7 billion loan installment this festive season.








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