Kenanoglu says they felt safer outdoors.
Fleeing rebels, desperate Syrians find refuge among Istanbul’s Alevis September 27, 2013 A Syrian Alawite girl who has just arrived in Istanbul from Aleppo, Syria, is sheltering with her family at the Pirsultan Abdal Cemevi. Credit: Jodi Hilton When he heard the rumors that Syrian Alawite refugees were sleeping in Istanbul parks, Ali Kenanoglu decided he had to help. Kenanoglu, who heads the Hubyar Sultan Alevi Cultural association, asked people to stay in one of the Alevi cemevis, or houses of worship. But the refugees refused. Kenanoglu says they felt safer outdoors. “They said, ‘We don’t want to go indoors because when we do, our women and children are being raped….