BARDARASH, Iraqi Kurdistan Region — Turkey is a leading donor of humanitarian aid. It hosts more refugees than any other country in the world. Its official emergency relief outfit, known as AFAD, has won millions of hearts and minds in disaster spots across the globe. But here at the Bardarash refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, any mention of Turkey prompts fury and disgust. A reporter was cautioned against speaking Turkish. “Hush! Are you crazy? You will be attacked,” warned Botan Salahaddin, the camp’s Iraqi Kurdish manager.
Over 10,000 Syrian Kurds currently sheltering here are victims of Turkey’s ongoing offensive in northern Syria. Nearly half are children. Launched on Oct. 9, Turkey’s “Operation Peace Spring” has displaced at least 200,000 people and left 90 civilians dead, according to the Kurdish Red Crescent operating within Syria.
The crush of refugees has eased since Turkey signed US and Russian-brokered cease-fires that effectively halted Turkish advances. But violations of the cease-fires — mainly by the Turkish side — continue and “People are still coming, unfortunately,” said Salahaddin.
The Barzani Charity Foundation, a local nongovernmental organization founded by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s recently anointed prime minister, Masrour Barzani, runs the camp jointly with the UN refugee agency and provides hot meals, kerosene and blankets to new arrivals.
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