Yaserji arrived in Turkey as a refugee himself twelve years ago, after his home in Aleppo was destroyed. Yet, twelve years into the war, he opened up the orphanage just in the last year – almost as an act of defiance.
“It is the Russians, and Putin, that are in complete control,” he said. “They can stop at any point bombing schools and hospitals and kids. They can stop at any point creating more orphans and they decide not to.”