“Ghurbatna,” a Project to Help Syrian Refugees

A number of young Syrian refugees in Turkey employed their technical skills to build a website to help Syrian refugees cope with their new lives away from home. The organizers of the project, dubbed “Ghurbatna”, intend also to set up a radio channel and extend their services to outside of Turkey. Mujahid Akil, one of the Syrian refugees living in Gaziantep, Turkey, said that the “idea is based on the provision of assistance and advice to Syrians refugees in order not to be exploited, and to alleviate their suffering and guide them. We built a website and a mobile application for the project. We seek to extend our service to Syrian refugees in all countries, but due to our limited capabilities, the project will be restricted to Turkey. The website of Ghurbatna offers the registered users many services, such as reading news related to Syrian refugees in Turkey, announcing job opportunities and government decisions, in addition to the ability to communicate with the registered users through notifications sent to them.” The organizers of the project also intend to launch a community radio for the Syrian refugees in Turkey. Jana Derik, the supervisor of the radio station, said that that the programs of the radio will address the reality of Syrians living here, such as “Help Me” program that will receive phone calls from people who are having problems. Akil, a software designer, said that more than 5,000 people registered on the website in a short period of time. He also said “we built a mobile app due to the increased use of mobile phones.” Ma’rouf, a user of the mobile app, says that “I managed to access several government decisions in Turkey that interest me such as access to accommodation and health card and paperwork required to enroll in the university through the mobile app.” The organizers of the project say that the project is still facing financial and technical problems. Akil says that “we need a specialized team in updating the data, and the staff cannot work more without being being paid as they all have financial commitments. However, we try hard to go through with the project, and we look forward to help from all those who are able to support us.” The organizers of the project aspires to strengthen the links between all Syrian refugees in the host countries, and to exchange experiences to reduce the cases of exploitation. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Al Jazeera)