Turkey's humanitarian policy throughout the ages

Turkey hosted the U.N.'s debut Humanitarian Summit last week as one of the top three benefactors in humanitarian aid with the U.S. and the U.K. and the top benefactor in terms of gross national product. To document the benevolence of Turkish culture, a book has been published by the General Directorate of State Archives that examines the country's international donations. The book titled, "Cihan-Penah: Osmanlı'dan Günümüze İnsan Diplomasisi" (Shelter of the World: Humanitarian Diplomacy from the Ottoman Period to the Present) was also given as a gift to state presidents and government heads on behalf of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The book features 77 documents detailing the international humanitarian aid that has been made. Written over the course of one year and available in both Turkish and English, the book documents donations that have been made to numerous countries including Aceh, India, Sweden, the U.S., China and Ethiopia. The international aid that was delivered during the early era of the Turkish Republic is also included in the book.

The firman to Bosnian Franciscans

The oldest document in the book dates back to 1478 and was a firman recorded by Mehmet the Conquer to Bosnian Franciscans. The firman puts Bosnian Franciscans and churches under the protection of the Ottomans, lessening the hardships they faced. It assures the clergy that there is no room for concern and that they can live under Ottoman rule in peace. Mehmet the Conqueror also specified that neither his viziers nor other people could cause harm or intervene in their religious lives.

Sultan Süleyman I's letter to Francis I of France



The series of letters addressed to the King of France, François I, by Sultan Süleyman in 1500s are the next revealing piece of history included in the book. The subjects of the discussion include the alliance between France and the Ottoman Empire and the assistance the Ottoman sultan offered to France. One of the letters reads, "You have sent to my Porte, refuge of sovereigns, a letter by your faithful agent Frangipani, and you have furthermore entrusted in him sundry verbal communications; you have informed me that the enemy has overrun your country and that you are at present in prison and a captive, and you have here asked aid and succors for your deliverance. Take courage then, and be not dismayed."

A letter of thanks from Ireland

Another historic account recalls the donations made by the Ottoman Empire to Ireland after the Great Famine of 1845. Dated 1847, the letter of gratitude to Sultan Abdülmecid expresses the Irish people's gratefulness after receiving the imperial aid. The letter states, "We the noblemen, gentlemen and inhabitants of Ireland want to express our thanks and gratitude to the Ottoman Sultan's munificent assistance due to the disaster of dearth. It is unavoidable for us to appeal for the assistance of other countries in order to be saved from the enduring threat of death and famine. The Ottoman Sultan's munificent response to this aid call displays an example to European states … We express our gratitude on their behalf and hope that the Ottoman Sultan and his dominions will be saved from the affiliations which have befallen us." In the mid-1800s, Ireland was an agricultural nation, populated by 8 million people who were among the poorest people in the Western World. Having started in 1845 and continued for six years, the Potato Famine killed over a million men, women and children in Ireland and caused another million to flee the country.Louis Pasteur's

Sculpture

Among the documents the book includes, one of them recounts the monetary aid given in honor of the French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur's sculpture in France. According to the record, a total of 1,000 franks were given to the French as monetary assistance for the construction of his sculpture.

Other examples include wheat that was provided to Great Britain for drought, Sultan Abdülmecid's support for fire victims in Bucharest, flood victims in France as well as health care support to Iran when a cholera epidemic broke out. The empire's assistance also covers support to the victims of a volcanic eruption in Sicily. Similarly, the Turkish government sent 200 tons of timber to Armenia after the 1926 earthquake in Gyumri.

Humanitarian aid continued in Turkish Republic era

Associate Professor Uğur Ünal, the General Manager of State Archives, said that the Ottoman Empire remained a shelter for nations and people who were suppressed, experiencing hardships or suffering during the late period of Ottoman rule. "Until it was abolished, the empire gave a hand to people in need and did not reject anyone who asked for help. This is why sultans were named the "Cihan-penah" or the "alempenah" [the shelter of the world]," Ünal continued. He stressed that humanitarian aid became a necessity of the empire's caliphate title. "The empire did not behave in an indifferent manner towards the people or countries that they had unfavorable relations with when they were in need. Turkey has continued to help other countries since then and the documents are a proof of it," he concluded.