From August 2014 to 2017, Assyrians Without Borders and the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (SRII) carried out a project whose objective was to plan and implement meaningful activities for Assyrian refugees from Syria in Istanbul. The aim was to improve the refugees’ mental health, enable their integration into society and rebuild the community of Assyrian refugees. An example of this is strengthening the refugees’ Assyrian, Turkish and English skills, which was done through language classes. Through this project, the refugees could help one other and take advantage of each other’s knowledge and expertise.
The traumatic experiences caused by the Syria War made this project a priority for Assyrians Without Borders. Today, it is running as an independent activity where continuous work is made to keep meeting the main goals of the project.
Since 2018, Assyrians Without Borders reclaimed the project in the Turabdin province. Together with Father Ishok Ergun and the Syriac Orthodox Church foundation Mar Barsoum and Mart Shmuni in Midyat, Assyrians Without Borders has distributed Christmas gifts to the children in the province.
In August 2019, multiple fires erupted in villages in Turabdin. The fires destroyed a large part of the crops, which is a critical part of Assyrians in the area’s livelihood. This is why Assyrians Without Borders, with the help of generous donations, has decided to purchase ten fire extinguishers as well as create an emergency supply room in Arkah, that all nearby villages can share, to prevent future fires from spreading quickly and uncontrollably.
