DAMASCUS: Minister of State for International Cooperation HE Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad has inaugurated Al Amal residential city project to shelter people affected by crises and provide decent housing for displaced families in northern Syria.
The opening ceremony was attended by Turkish Deputy Interior Minister Munir Karaloglu, Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) Secretary-General Durmus Aydin, Mayor of Turkiye's Gaziantep Fatma Sahin, and Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Charity (QC) Yousef bin Ahmed Al Kuwari.
The residential city, created in cooperation between QC and IHH, includes 1,400 houses equipped to accommodate more than 8,800 people and is equipped with basic service facilities of schools, markets, a health center and a mosque, making the city a qualitative leap in the lives of hundreds of families who have moved from refugee tents to homes that preserve their dignity and provide them with safety.
The process of housing displaced families living in the camps of northern Syria in Al Amal city was launched with the aim of providing safe and dignified shelter to the most vulnerable displaced families who have suffered from harsh tent conditions for many years.
The relocation operations to the city will continue in stages for several days, to ensure a smooth and orderly transition of families to their new homes, to be a safe haven that alleviates their suffering and provides them with a stable and dignified environment and life.
This project was born thanks to the support of the Qatari people, who contributed to providing safe shelter to the affected families, which contributes to alleviating their suffering and stabilizing them away from the camps.
Al Misnad said that the State of Qatar, under His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani's leadership, has always shown a pioneering stance in backing Syrian people.
It is a great pleasure to be with Syrian brothers today to witness the opening of the Al Amal City, which reflects the spirit of giving and solidarity that has always characterized the fraternal relations between Qatar and Syria, she added.
The city is not just an urban project, but rather a symbol of hope and rebuilding of a decent life for severely affected communities, Her Excellency added, extending thanks to the QC and the IHH, which co-implemented this vital project.
Meanwhile, Al Kuwari confirmed that the project in the town of Soran in Aleppo Governorate, northern Syria, came as a gift from the charitable and generous people in the State of Qatar to their displaced Syrian brothers who were exhausted by the war and the harsh conditions.
The impact of this project is manifested in the smiles on the faces of children, the stability that families restored, and the opportunities provided to them to start a new life full of hope and ambition, Al Kuwari added.
He thanked all contributors to the realization of this great project, starting with the generous donors in the State of Qatar, IHH, the concerned government agencies in Turkiye and Syria, and the work teams that spared no effort to complete this project that has turned from a dream into reality.
In turn, Karaloglu said that 821,500 of Syrians who spent part of their lives in Turkiye have returned, voicing hopes that brotherhood and relationship with Syrian neighbors will continue.
He thanked the QC, IHH workers, and all the institutions and individuals who contributed to the success of this pioneering project. For his part, Aydin hailed the long-standing partnership with QC as one of the most wonderful images of solidarity and cooperation. Through these projects, IHH and QC have represented a source of hope to those in need through taking important steps to find sustainable solutions that enable Syrians to live in dignity.
The Al Amal City is not just a housing project, but rather a reconstruction of a decent life, he said.
For their part, many beneficiaries of the project expressed their overwhelming happiness at receiving their homes after years of suffering in tents under difficult circumstances, noting in this regard the continuous Qatari support and QC's efforts to complete this project.
