Refugees of the Syrian civil war in Turkey explained

Refugees of the Syrian civil war in Turkey are the Syrian refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war. The Republic of Turkey hosts over 3.7 million registered refugees.

As part of Turkey's migrant crisis, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2018 Turkey was hosting 63% of all of the Syrian refugees in the world.[1] More than a third of the refugees are hosted in Southeastern Turkey, near the Syria-Turkey border.[2]

Statistics

there are 3,763,565 registered Syrian refugees in Turkey.[3]

Milestones

Settlement (repatriation, transit)

In 2014, the capacity of the camps established in 2012 and 2013 became insufficient.[4] In 2014, refugees according to their own preferences begin to migrate across provinces.[4]

About 30% live in 22 government-run camps near the Syrian border.[5]

The number of refugees in transit to Europe dramatically increased in 2015.[6]

Citizenship

Up to 300,000 Syrian refugees living in Turkey could be given citizenship, allegedly, under a plan to keep wealthy and educated Syrians in the country.[7] The current policy towards the Syrian refugees provides temporary protection and homage non-European refugees. According to the policy, Turkey has a legal responsibility towards European refugees only, but for the rest it is only through voluntary action. The temporary protection offered by Turkey to Syrians seeking refuge in the country means that they are limited in some ways.[8] Under temporary protection, Syrians in Turkey are limited from working, especially in formal employment. The temporary protection policy does not guarantee the Syrian refugees permanent protection that would allow them to compete for jobs equally with the Turkish citizens. In some cases the large number of refugees in the country has contributed to the nation changing its citizenship laws to integrate some of the refugees from Syria. Skilled Syrians are provided with citizenship because they contribute positively to the growth of the economy.[9]

Conditions

As of April 2014 (2011–2014):[10]

As of April 2018 (2011–2018):[11]

Financial aid

Turkey allocated US$30 billion between 2011 and 2018 on refugee assistance.[12]

Over 13 million Syrians received aid from the Turkish Aid Agency (AFAD). Turkey has spent more than any other country on Syrian refugee aid, and has also been subject to criticism for opening refugee camps on the Syrian side of the border.[13]

Financial aid from other countries to Syrian Refugees has been limited, though €3,200,000,000 was promised by the EU in November 2015.[14] In March 2016, the EU and Turkey agreed on the EU-Turkey Statement, which involved a number of political concessions as well as 'another €3 billion in aid, if Turkey agreed to a readmission of Syrians arriving in Greece and tighter border controls.'[15]

In 2018, the Directorate General of Migration Management built a fingerprint identification system for a more efficient distribution of financial aid to Syrian Refugees.[16]

On 2 December 2021, the EU announced it would be providing assistance of €325 million (around $368 million) for refugees in Turkey. The aid would be loaded on to the debit cards of refugees, helping more than 1.5 million to cover their most essential needs, such as food, rent, transport and medicine.[17]

Employment

Under Turkish law, Syrian refugees cannot apply for resettlement but only temporary protection status. Registering for temporary protection status gives access to state services such as health and education, as well as the right to apply for a work permit in certain geographic areas and professions. Over a third of urban refugees are not registered.

A study which was supported by the Istanbul University Scientific Research Projects unit and conducted by academics from a number of universities, revealed that the vast majority of Syrians in Turkey are employed in unregistered work for significantly lower wages compared to their Turkish counterparts.[18]

However, compared to the increase in refugees, benefits for the increased number of people did not increase accordingly. In fact, only 712,218 were given residency permits only 56,024 work permits were given to the Syrians by 2017.[19]

Housing

Turkey's response to the refugee crisis is different from most other countries. As a World Bank report noted: It is a non-camp and government financed approach, as opposed to directing refugees into camps that rely on humanitarian aid agencies for support.[20]

Nativism and welfare chauvinism

Nativism has emerged as a significant issue in Turkish politics concerning Syrian immigration and refugees. In recent years, the Turkish public discussions have witnessed an increase in patriotism during the cross-border military offensive against the Syrian regime, with nationalist keywords being used to target Syrian immigrants and refugees. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the situation, with welfare chauvinism dominating the social media discourse. Turkish citizens are increasingly viewed as deserving of priority in social benefits offered by the government, leading to negative attitudes towards immigrants. However, despite the anti-immigrant sentiments, symbolic nativism is barely present in discussions, and cultural markers are not strongly emphasized. Immigrants are seldom framed as a threat to the "Turkish way of life," and instead, the cowardice of immigrants is a frequently recurring concept in social media posts with patriotic content. This complex interplay between patriotism, welfare chauvinism, and anti-immigrant attitudes in Turkish politics is an area of ongoing research and analysis.[21]

Racism

See main article: Anti-Arabism in Turkey. Anti-Arab sentiments in the country have significantly increased since the influx of Syrian refugees into Turkey.[22] [23] [24] [25]

Education

Turkey is trying to ensure that all refugee children can access a form of learning and be fully integrated into the formal education system.

Currently, 30% of Syrian refugee children have access to education, 4,000 businesses have been opened, and several Syrian refugee camps have grown into small towns with amenities from healthcare to barber shops.

As of March 2018, about 60% (600,000 primary and secondary education) of Syrian school-aged children under temporary protection remain in school.[26] The EU has supported education, through a €300 million direct grant to the Ministry of National Education. Turkey's educational support:

Healthcare

As of October 2014 (2011–2014), Turkey provided with its own resources:[4]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Total Persons of Concern by Country of Asylum . data2 . UNHCR . 24 September 2018.
  2. Web site: Syrians shifting demographics in Turkey's Kurdish regions - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East. 10 August 2016 .
  3. Web site: UNHCR Situation Syria Regional Refugee Response – Turkey. 11 November 2021. Government of Turkey. 17 November 2021.
  4. Boluk . Gulden . Syrian Refugees in Turkey: between Heaven and Hell? . Mediterranean Yearbook (Observatory of Euro Mediterranean Policies)) . 2016 . 2016 . 119 . 29 July 2019.
  5. Web site: Turkey – Syrian Refugees. 11 June 2015. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150312005943/http://syrianrefugees.eu/?page_id=80. 12 March 2015. dmy-all.
  6. Boluk . Gulden . Syrian Refugees in Turkey: between Heaven and Hell? . Mediterranean Yearbook (Observatory of Euro Mediterranean Policies)) . 2016 . 2016 . 118 . 29 July 2019.
  7. Web site: Up to 300,000 Syrians could get Turkish citizenship: report. AFP.
  8. Baban . Feyzi . Ilcan . Suzan . Rygiel . Kim . 2016-06-08 . Syrian refugees in Turkey: pathways to precarity, differential inclusion, and negotiated citizenship rights . Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies . 43 . 1 . 41–57 . 10.1080/1369183x.2016.1192996 . 147858169 . 1369-183X.
  9. Koser Akcapar . Sebnem . Simsek . Dogus . 2018-03-29 . The Politics of Syrian Refugees in Turkey: A Question of Inclusion and Exclusion through Citizenship . Social Inclusion . 6 . 1 . 176–187 . 10.17645/si.v6i1.1323 . 2183-2803. free .
  10. Book: Editorial . "Assistance to Syrian refugees in Turkey" Conference document . 24 April 2018 . Brussels II Conference . Brussels . 2 . 29 July 2019. Content is copied from this source, which is © European Union, 1995-2018. Reuse is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. Conference declaration was drafted by the European Union in close co-ordination with the Turkish Government and the United Nations
  11. Book: Editorial . "Assistance to Syrian refugees in Turkey" Conference document . 24 April 2018 . Brussels II Conference . Brussels . 3 . 29 July 2019. Content is copied from this source, which is © European Union, 1995-2018. Reuse is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. Conference declaration was drafted by the European Union in close co-ordination with the Turkish Government and the United Nations.
  12. News: Turkey spends $30 billion on Syrian refugees: FM - Turkey News . 18 November 2021 . Anadolu Agency via Hürriyet Daily News . 6 November 2017 . en.
  13. Web site: Syrian Refugees in Turkey: The Long Road Ahead. 21 April 2015. Migration Policy Instıtute. 3 May 2015.
  14. Web site: Turkey, EU agree 3-billion-euro aid deal to stem migrant crisis . Kanter . James . 29 November 2015 . New York Times . 14 February 2016.
  15. Tsourapas. Gerasimos. 2019-10-01. The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Foreign Policy Decision-Making in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Journal of Global Security Studies. en. 4. 4. 464–481. 10.1093/jogss/ogz016. 2057-3170. free.
  16. Web site: Biometric Refugee Registration in Turkey. 8 January 2021. Aratek Biometrics. 5 October 2021.
  17. Web site: 2021-12-02. EU provides $368 mln boost for refugees in Turkey. 2021-12-02. Al Arabiya English. en.
  18. Web site: Majority of Syrians in Turkey employed in unregistered work for lower wages: Survey – LABOR. Hürriyet Daily News. 6 July 2017 . 25 October 2017.
  19. Web site: cagaptay . Soner . Syrian Refugees in Turkey . The Washington Institute for Near East Policy . 22 August 2018.
  20. News: Turkey's Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the Road Ahead. World Bank. 28 May 2017. en.
  21. Koytak . Huseyin Zeyd . Celik . Muhammed Hasan . August 6, 2022 . A Text Mining Approach to Determinants of Attitude Towards Syrian Immigration in the Turkish Twittersphere . Social Science Computer Review. 10.1177/08944393221117460 . 251434125 .
  22. News: Palestinians Were Spared Turkey's Rising anti-Arab Hate. Until Now. 2019-07-16. Haaretz. 2019-08-27. en.
  23. Web site: Anti-Arab sentiment on rise in Turkey. Tremblay. Pinar. 2014-08-21. Al-Monitor. en. 2019-08-27.
  24. Web site: Syrian refugees who were welcomed in Turkey now face backlash. NBC News. 18 March 2019 . en. 2019-08-27.
  25. Web site: Anti-Syrian sentiment on the rise in Turkey. Halis. Mujgan. 2013-11-13. Al-Monitor. tr. 2019-08-29.
  26. Book: Editorial . "Assistance to Syrian refugees in Turkey" Conference document . 24 April 2018 . Brussels II Conference . Brussels . 3 . 29 July 2019. Content is copied from this source, which is © European Union, 1995-2018. Reuse is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. Conference declaration was drafted by the European Union in close co-ordination with the Turkish Government and the United Nations

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