A couple decided that the best way to celebrate their love was to share it.
Image via Twitter user @Kimseyokmu
Weddings are expensive, and the food, by and large, not that great. From some limp chicken in a beige sauce to a vague, undetermined, vegetarian-ish dish, the price is high for wedding food both fiscally and emotionally. So instead of blowing their money on food at their wedding, a Turkish couple decided to donate it to a soup kitchen, which then used the donation to feed over 4,000 Syrian refugees.
Fethullah Üzümcüo?lu and Esra Polat live in Kilis, Turkey, a border town that has since become home to close to 10,000 refugees. According to The Washington Post, Üzümcüo?lu’s father came up with the idea of skipping the banquet, calling it “unnecessary” when people living “next door” were in need of food. Turkey has hosted more than a million Syrian refugees since the crisis began, and critical social services—including housing, food, and education—are often lacking. It is estimated that Syria is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.
Refugee children. Image via Flickr user Freedom House
The couple’s action may not be revolutionary, but their donation has real material value and sends a symbolic message to a media that appears to have become exhausted from the conflict. While wedding cake is undeniably great (and wedding ice cream cake, undeniably better), 4,000 fed refugees is a real cause for celebration.
(Via: Sydney Morning Herald)
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