NATO's Support and Procurement Agency set up camps in the Antakya district of southern Hatay province in Türkiye to accommodate 2,400 students and teachers from Hatay, Antakya and Iskenderun, which are among the 11 provinces hit by the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes.
The opening ceremony of NATO camps was attended by Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, Chief of General Staff Yaşar Güler, and the general manager of logistics of the Ministry of National Defense, Veysel Uyar, on Wednesday.
The camp will help students to prepare for higher education entrance exams and consists of different kinds of logistic support such as a library, social facilities and avenues related to culture, arts and sports. There are toilets, bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining hall, laundry facilities, a sports tent, a health center, a playground, a prayer room, waste and clean water treatment facilities and administrative offices. The facility also contains heating and cooling systems.
Expressing his gratitude to NATO allies at the ceremony, Akar said, "NATO's support has been proven not only in security crises but also during natural disasters." Earlier in mid-March, NATO built temporary shelters for 4,000 earthquake survivors in Antakya and Iskenderun following devastating earthquakes that claimed tens of thousands of lives in Türkiye's southeast and Syria and affected over 13 million lives.
"The camp city is a step to rehabilitate our youth who suffered from earthquake trauma, and to prepare them for a stronger future," Akar said, and added, "The biggest investment is investing in youth, who guarantee the future of a state."
Cavoli, on the other hand, admired Türkiye's prompt and continuous efforts of assisting earthquake survivors. The United States of America, hand-in-hand with its personnel, NATO, and Turkish security forces are working nonstop to facilitate victims at Incirlik Air Base.
After the ceremony, Akar, Cavoli and the accompanying delegation toured classrooms in the camp following an iftar dinner with students.