Living and working as an English teacher here in Istanbul, Turkey, raised my awareness of the terrible killing and fighting going on just one hour past our southeastern border in Aleppo, Syria. This is not a pleasant thought for any of us, and definitely not for the poor refugees who are escaping as much as possible and coming over into Turkey. Some have managed to get as far as Istanbul, and we see a few refugees in our streets with their small children, begging for food and money. They are the poorest of the poor. I see them living in small tent cities in forest clearings, and some are just using blankets as tents in different parts of our huge city. Some Syrians are living in abandoned buildings in the "old city" areas near the famous mosques in Sultanahmet area, and near Suleymaniye Mosque. The abandoned buildings have no running water or electricity and no sanitation areas. The Syrians are in constant turmoil and forced to move because of their poverty. I think about the children, they are homeless and have no chance for an education because of being uprooted from their home country and forced by fear of being killed or enslaved, into another country. I would love to find a way to help those kids, maybe get something going here in Istanbul, get some help from local businesses and education facilities. If we can gather some supplies for the kids like books, pencils, crayons, things like normal school kids would have, maybe they could at least feel like they are learning or creating. I don't know the answer to this yet, but I am definitely looking around and asking questions at this point...
