VZCZCXYZ0007
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAK #2512/01 2840735
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 110735Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3976
INFO RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 3397

UNCLAS ANKARA 002512 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SE, G/TIP, USAID RUTH POJMAN, GLEN ROJERS, AND 
SARAH BERRY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID AFIN ELAB PHUM SMIG SOCI TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY'S TIP SHELTERS FACING CRITICAL BUDGET 
SHORTFALLS 
 
REF: ANKARA 1893 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  Budgetary short-falls threaten the 
continued operation of Turkey's two dedicated 
anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) shelters.  While the 
Istanbul shelter is at least secure through the end of 2007, 
Ankara shelter administrators have told us that they have had 
to divert resources to cover salaries in September and have 
no money to pay salaries in October.  The Ankara shelter 
requires emergency support to operate until November when 
EU-granted/IOM-administered project funds become available. 
The IOM Chief of Mission in Ankara has sent a letter to 
Ankara-based ambassadors requesting two months' worth of 
assistance for the Ankara shelter, until those project funds 
become available.  The shelter's estimated operating expenses 
are about $16,000 per month.  Even a fraction of one month's 
expenses would go a long way toward minimizing the disruption 
of the shelter's operations.  We urge the Department to 
consider this request.  END SUMMARY. 
 
THE ANKARA TIP SHELTER:  CONDITION CRITICAL 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) We met on September 26 with Gulsen Ulker, President 
of the Executive Board of the Foundation for Women's 
Solidarity (FWS), which runs the Ankara shelter, and with 
Zehra Tosun, the shelter coordinator.  Ulker told us that the 
FWS requires assistance to get through the next two months, 
when they expect IOM/EU project funds to arrive.  IOM concurs 
with this dire assessment and has sent a letter to the 
Embassies of the United States, Sweden, Norway, the 
Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom 
requesting help to cover the gap period (see paragraph 7). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) FWS opened the Ankara shelter in 2005.  It has 
signed protocols with the municipality of Ankara and IOM to 
provide services to victims of human trafficking, including 
shelter, legal counseling, and health and psychological 
services.  It takes from the Turkish National Police 
trafficking victims rescued throughout Turkey.  Since its 
opening in late 2005, it has assisted 123 victims, primarily 
of Moldovan and other former Soviet Union-origin.  Like its 
Istanbul-based counterpart, which provides the same services, 
primarily to victims rescued in the Istanbul region, the FWS 
shelter plays a critical role in Turkey's anti-TIP action 
plan.  FWS also participates in the GOT's TIP taskforce. 
However, apart from unbilled hospital care from the Ministry 
of Health, neither shelter receives consistent financial 
support from the GOT -- only free rent from the municipality. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) According to FWS, operating expenses at the 
shelter, excluding rent, are about $16,000 per month.  This 
includes the salaries of the coordinator, a psychologist, a 
part-time medical doctor, one domestic worker, and the 
services of four Russian and one Romanian/Moldovan 
translator.  The funding shortfall forced FWS to divert 
resources to cover salaries in September, even with an 
emergency allocation of $4,500 from IOM.  IOM had already 
re-directed $14,500 from a Swedish-supported regional TIP 
project to help FWS get through the summer.  With the $4,500 
already allocated by IOM for October, FWS faces a $26,500 
budget gap. 
 
THE ISTANBUL SHELTER:  FUTURE HAZY 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The situation at the Istanbul shelter is only 
marginally more stable.  We met on September 17 with Turgut 
Tokus, Chairman of the Board of the Human Resource 
Development, which operates the Istanbul shelter.  Since 
opening in 2004, this shelter has provided services to 322 
trafficking victims.  While the Istanbul shelter also 
receives free rent from the municipality, shelter 
administrators have been informed that, as in Ankara, Prime 
Ministry-administered World Bank funds for groups at social 
risk will not be available again in 2008.  They will press 
the government, but right now all is uncertain for 2008 
except the rent. 
 
COMMENT:  LACK OF CONSISTENT FUNDING FOR THE SHELTERS 
UNDERMINES GOT'S ANTI-TIP PERFORMANCE 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The central government's failure to guarantee a 
continual source of funding for these two shelters is 
damaging to shelter employee morale.  It is also a waste of 
resources.  The shelters perpetually struggle to locate the 
necessary funds to allow them to continue to provide an 
 
essential service that is critical to Turkey's anti-TIP 
performance.  We have repeatedly stressed to the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, which heads the interagency TIP taskforce, 
that a lack of guaranteed support for the TIP shelters in 
Turkey undermines what has been an otherwise commendable 
improvement in the GOT's counter-trafficking efforts.  A 
small U.S. contribution in support of the Ankara shelter at 
this critical period in its operation will not/not contribute 
to further GOT complacency.  Rather, we believe that such a 
contribution will shine a light on this perennial shortcoming 
in the GOT's action plan and enhance our ability to persuade 
the GOT of the need to rectify this situation. 
 
TEXT OF THE LETTER FROM THE IOM CHIEF OF MISSION TO 
AMBASSADOR WILSON (AS RECEIVED) 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) BEGIN TEXT. 
 
Dear Ambassador Ross Wilson, 
 
I am writing to draw your attention to an urgent concern with 
regard to the running costs of the Ankara shelter for 
trafficked persons. 
 
A ten-bed shelter opened in Ankara for safe accommodation for 
trafficked persons in September 2005 and has been operational 
since November 2005.  The shelter is operated by the 
Foundation for Women's Solidarity FWS an Ankara-based NGO who 
has experience running a shelter for victims of domestic 
violence.  FWS was selected under an open and competitive 
tender process.  The facility is staffed by a coordinator, 
shelter manager, social worker, psychologist, part-time 
medical doctor, one domestic worker, and five cultural 
mediators.  All trafficked persons are provided legal 
counseling and assistance free of charge.  A doctor visits 
the shelter twice a week and the Turkish government provides 
free medical care for trafficked persons.  The shelter 
psychologist provides assistance for each case.  Regular 
social activities are provided for shelter beneficiaries, 
including courses on computers, language, jewelry design, 
painting and art. 
 
IOM has been providing technical and financial support to the 
Foundation for Women's Solidarity under its 
counter-trafficking project since 2005.  We will continue 
supporting our NGO partner under the up-coming EC funded 
counter-trafficking project.  We are at the last stage of 
finalization of the EC process and aiming to sign the 
agreement October or November.  Due to process, there is a 
gap to cover the Ankara shelter expenses for two months. 
 
We would be grateful if you could look at the possibilities 
to cover the gap period through funding from your Embassy. 
 
Sincerely yours, 
 
(Signed) 
Maurizio Busatti 
Chief of Mission 
 
END TEXT. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON