Syrians in Turkey
{{Short description|Syrians living in Turkey}}
{{Update|date=January 2025}}
{{Distinguish| Assyrians in Turkey }}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Syrians in Turkey
Türkiye'deki Suriyeliler
| image = Syrianrefugees17April2025.png
| image_caption = Share of Syrians under Temporary Protection by province (as of April 17, 2025)
| population = {{Circa}} 3.1 million
Registered refugees in Temporary Protection Status: 2,777,826
(as of April 17, 2025){{Cite web|url=https://www.goc.gov.tr/gecici-koruma5638|title=GEÇİCİ KORUMA|website=www.goc.gov.tr}}
People with a residence permit: 72,777
(as of April 17, 2025){{Cite web|url=https://www.goc.gov.tr/ikamet-izinleri|title=İKAMET İZİNLERİ|website=www.goc.gov.tr}}
Turkish citizens of Syrian origin: 238,768
(as of August 2024){{cite news |title=Bakan Yerlikaya: 238 bin 55 Suriyeli vatandaşlık aldı |work=BBC News Türkçe|url=https://www.dunya.com/gundem/bakan-yerlikaya-238-bin-55-suriyeli-vatandaslik-aldi-haberi-713813}}
| popplace = Syrian population in descending order: Istanbul, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Adana, Hatay, Mersin, Bursa, Konya, İzmir, Ankara
| langs = Syrian Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, Syriac
| rels = Predominantly Sunni Islam, minorities of Shia Islam (Isma'ilism, Nusayris), Christians (Syriac Christianity, Eastern Catholic Churches).
| related = Arabs, Kurds, Syrian Turkmen, Armenians, Assyrians
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
}}
File:Syrian refugees in Turkey by province.png
Almost 3 million Syrians live in Turkey,{{Cite web |title=Hope turns to regret among Syrians returning home from Turkey |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hope-turns-regret-among-syrians-returning-home-turkey-2025-02-05/ |website=Reuters}} many of whom fled the Syrian Civil War in the 2010s. They include Turkish citizens of Syrian origin, Syrian refugees, and other Syrian citizens resident in Turkey. As of 2025, about 2.8 million registered refugees of the Syrian Civil War reside in Turkey, which hosts one of the biggest refugee populations in the world.{{cite web|access-date=2022-02-19|title=Situation Syria Regional Refugee Response|url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria/location/113|work=data2.unhcr.org}}{{Cite web |title=Ülkesine dönen ve Türkiye'de kayıt altına alınan Suriyelilerin sayısı açıklandı |url=https://www.birgun.net/haber/ulkesine-donen-ve-turkiye-de-kayit-altina-alinan-suriyelilerin-sayisi-aciklandi-397609 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=birgun.net |language=Turkish}} In addition, more than 72,000 Syrian nationals reside in Turkey with a residence permit.{{Cite web |title=İKAMET İZİNLERİ |url=https://www.goc.gov.tr/ikamet-izinleri |access-date=2022-08-18 |website=www.goc.gov.tr}} Over 200 thousand Syrian nationals have acquired Turkish citizenship.{{Cite web |title=Kaç Suriyeliye vatandaşlık verildi? |url=https://www.aslinda.com/25-milyon-suriyeliye-vatandaslik-iddiasi-yalan |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Son dakika haberleri {{!}} Günlük haberler |language=tr}} Many children were born or grew up in Turkey and don’t have strong ties to Syria.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-24 |title=Stay or go? The dilemma of Turkey's Syrian refugees |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250124-stay-or-go-the-dilemma-of-turkey-s-syrian-refugees |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=France 24 |language=en}}
Syrians are generally concentrated in the border provinces and major cities in Turkey, and only 1.3% of them live in refugee camps.{{Cite web |title=GEÇİCİ KORUMA |url=https://www.goc.gov.tr/gecici-koruma5638 |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=www.goc.gov.tr}} Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey, hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees, with more than 500,000 registered people.{{Cite web |last=Aydınlık |date=2022-07-27 |title=İstanbul'daki sığınmacı sayısı açıklandı! |url=https://www.aydinlik.com.tr/haber/istanbuldaki-siginmaci-sayisi-aciklandi-istanbulda-kac-multeci-var-328996 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=www.aydinlik.com.tr |language=tr-TR}}{{Cite web |title=T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı - GEÇİCİ KORUMA |url=https://www.goc.gov.tr/gecici-koruma5638 |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=www.goc.gov.tr}}
Disputed population size
Ümit Özdağ, chairman of Victory Party, alleged that number of Syrian population who gained Turkish citizenship is 1,476,368 as of July 2022.{{Citation |title=Türkiye'de vatandaşlık alan Suriyelilerin gerçek rakamlarını açıklıyorum. | date=20 August 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GljZgYKZVEU |language=en |access-date=2022-08-20}} He also claims number of Syrians in Turkey is about 5.3 million including unregistered ones.{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/umitozdag/status/1417535673574334470 |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=Twitter|title=Türkiye'de kayıtlı ve kayıtsız toplam 5.3 Milyon Suriyeli var. Türk milletine soruyorum; 5.3 Milyon Suriyeli için ne yapılmasını istiyorsunuz? |language=en}} In May 2023, during a visit to Victory Party headquarters, AKP deputy chairman Numan Kurtulmuş said that there are 4,994 million Syrians in Turkey.{{cite web|url=https://www.voaturkce.com/a/numan-kurtulmus-ve-umit-ozdag-arasinda-suriyeliler-anlazmazligi/7103798.html|title=Numan Kurtulmuş ve Ümit Özdağ arasında Suriyeliler anlaşmazlığı |date=22 May 2023|lang=Turkish}}
History
Before the Ottoman Empire was destroyed by World War I there was no definite boundary between the Syrian and Turkish parts of the Empire,{{Cite journal |last=Güçlü |first=Yücel |date=2006-07-01 |title=The controversy over the delimitationof the Turco-Syrian frontier in the period between the two world wars |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00263200600642357 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=641–657 |doi=10.1080/00263200600642357 |issn=0026-3206}} but during that war Cemal Pasha exiled some Arabists from Syria to Anatolia.{{Cite journal |last=Çiçek |first=M. Talha |date=November 2021 |title=From “notable Syrians” to “ordinary Anatolians”: the politics of “normalization” and the experience of exile during World War I |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-perspectives-on-turkey/article/abs/from-notable-syrians-to-ordinary-anatolians-the-politics-of-normalization-and-the-experience-of-exile-during-world-war-i/EE18F88E901115593D5D5400ECD3DC62 |journal=New Perspectives on Turkey |language=en |volume=65 |pages=49–77 |doi=10.1017/npt.2021.10 |issn=0896-6346}} The current frontier was not finalised until 1939 with the transfer of Hatay from French controlled Syria. It is the longest land border of both countries and their north-south gateway.{{Cite journal |last=Aras |first=Bülent |last2=Köni |first2=Hasan |date=2002 |title=Turkish-Syrian Relations Revisited |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41858424?seq=10 |journal=Arab Studies Quarterly |volume=24 |issue=4 |page=56 |pages= |issn=0271-3519}}
Syrians in Turkey include migrants from Syria to Turkey, as well as their descendants. The number of Syrians in Turkey is estimated at 4 million people as of August 2022,{{Cite web |title=T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı |url=https://www.goc.gov.tr/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=www.goc.gov.tr}} and consists mainly of refugees of the Syrian Civil War.
In 2017, Syrian citizens accounted for 24% of all work permits granted to foreign nationals, making Syrians the largest single group of foreign nationals with work permits.{{Cite web |title=Turkey handed work permits to more than 87,000 foreigners in 2017 |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-handed-work-permits-to-more-than-87-000-foreigners-in-2017-127357 |access-date=2018-05-13 |website=Hürriyet Daily News |date=15 February 2018 |language=en}}
Following the Turkish military intervention in the Afrin District in Northern Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia, some Turkish politicians have suggested that Syrian refugees in Turkey should be repatriated to Syria.{{Cite news |date=2018-03-27 |title=Syrian refugees in Turkey face calls to return as public mood changes |language=en |work=IRIN |url=https://www.irinnews.org/feature/2018/03/27/syrian-refugees-turkey-face-calls-return-public-mood-changes |access-date=2018-05-13}}
According to news releases in 2019; there are 405,521 Syrians born in Turkey since 2011, 79,820 Syrians who got Turkish citizenship, approximately 329,000 Syrians who returned to Syria, 31,185 Syrians who have working permits, and 15,159 companies which have at least one Syrian company member.{{Cite web |last=Doğanışık |first=İrem |title=Türkiye'de Suriyeli Sığınmacılar |url=https://www.dogrulukpayi.com/bulten/turkiye-de-suriyeli-siginmacilar |access-date=2021-01-18 |website=www.dogrulukpayi.com |language=tr-TR}}
As of May 2023; 554,609 Syrian refugees have returned to Syria.{{Cite news |title=İsmail Çataklı açıkladı: Ülkesine dönen Suriyeli sayısı belli oldu |url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/turkiye/ismail-catakli-acikladi-ulkesine-geri-donen-suriyeli-sayisi-belli-oldu-1988932 |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=www.cumhuriyet.com.tr |language=tr}} In December 2024 President Erdoğan announced he will open a third border crossing enabling more Syrian refugees to return to Syria, following the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's regime.{{Cite web |url=https://www.euronews.com/2024/12/10/syrian-refugees-in-turkey-begin-returning-home-as-al-assads-regime-falls |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=www.euronews.com |title=Syrian refugees in Turkey head homeward as al-Assad regime falls }}
Discrimination and violence
= Refugee "safe zones" =
In 2022 Turkey were criticized by Human Rights Watch for pressuring Syrians living in Turkey to move to Tell Abyad, a Turkish-occupied district of northern Syria. {{Cite web |date=2024-03-28 |title=Syrians Face Dire Conditions in Turkish-Occupied 'Safe Zone' {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/28/syrians-face-dire-conditions-turkish-occupied-safe-zone |access-date=2024-10-24 |language=en}} {{Cite web |date=2024-03-28 |title=Suriyeliler Türkiye İşgali Altındaki 'Güvenli Bölge'de Korkunç Koşullarla Karşı Karşıya {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/tr/news/2024/03/28/syrians-face-dire-conditions-turkish-occupied-safe-zone |access-date=2024-10-24 |language=tr}} {{Cite web |date=2024-03-28 |title=سوريون يواجهون ظروفا مزرية في "منطقة آمنة" تحتلها تركيا {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/ar/news/2024/03/28/syrians-face-dire-conditions-turkish-occupied-safe-zone |access-date=2024-10-24 |language=ar}}
= 2024 violence =
In 2024 there were multiple incidents to mob violence against Syrian refugees in Turkey.{{cite news | url=https://www.newarab.com/news/syrians-fear-violence-turkey-teenager-leaks-personal-data | title=Syrians fear violence as Turkey teenager leaks personal data | newspaper=The New Arab }}
Ethnic groups
File:Syrian Turkmen protest in Istanbul.jpg protest in Istanbul.]]
Syrians living in Turkey are formed of various ethnic and religious groups. The majority are Arabs (including Palestinians) while Syrian Kurds and Syrian Turkmen make up the significant minorities.{{Citation |last1=Wahby |first1=Sarah |title=Ensuring quality education for you refugees from Syria (12-25 year): a mapping exercise |url=https://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/publications/ensuring-quality-education-for-young-refugees-from-syria-12-25-years-a-mapping-exercise-executive-summary |year=2014 |publisher=Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford |last2=Ahmadzadeh |first2=Hashem |last3=Çorabatır |first3=Metin |last4=Hashem |first4=Leen |last5=Al Husseini |first5=Jalal}} It is estimated by the UNHCR that more than 80% of the Syrian population in Turkey are ethnic Arabs, while 10-15% of them are ethnic Kurds and 10-15% of them are ethnic Turks (Syrian Turkmen). The same report indicates that 81%, 16.1% and 13.3% state their native languages as Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish, respectively. (More than one option was available.){{Cite web |title=Barometer of Syrians 2019 |url=https://www.unhcr.org/tr/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2020/09/SB2019-TR-04092020.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913210351/https://www.unhcr.org/tr/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2020/09/SB2019-TR-04092020.pdf |access-date=15 August 2022 |website=UNHCR|archive-date=2020-09-13 }}
= Arabs =
{{see also|Syrian Arabs}}
Turkey has the world's third-largest population of Syrian Arabs, after Syria and Brazil.{{Cite web |title=Syria Population 2023 (Live) |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/syria-population |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=World Population Review |archive-date=2013-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224110143/https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/syria-population |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6822&Itemid=478&cod_pais=SYR&tipo=ficha_pais&lang=en|title=Syrian Arabic Republic|website=www.itamaraty.gov.br|access-date=19 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020031410/http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6822&Itemid=478&cod_pais=SYR&tipo=ficha_pais&lang=en|archive-date=20 October 2018|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/86447|title=UNHCR Turkey: Operational Update – February / March 2021|access-date=2021-06-25|archive-date=2023-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521042542/https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/86447|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=224|title=UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response|first=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|last=(UNHCR)|website=unhcr.org|access-date=19 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305121532/http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=224|archive-date=5 March 2018|url-status=dead}}
= Kurds =
{{see also|Kurds in Syria}}
= Turkmen =
{{see also|Syrian Turkmen}}
By December 2016 the Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ümit Yalçın stated that Turkey opened its borders to 500,000 Syrian Turkmen.{{Cite web |last=Ünal |first=Ali |year=2016 |title=Turkey stands united with Turkmens, says Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Yalçın |url=http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2016/12/15/turkey-stands-united-with-turkmens-says-foreign-ministry-undersecretary-yalcin |access-date=11 September 2018 |publisher=Daily Sabah |quote=Yalçın explained how Turkey opened its borders to 100,000 Turkmens from Iraq and 500,000 from Syria, sharing their pain and trying to mend their wounds as much as they could with economic, social and humanitarian aid.}}
In 2020 the Voice of America reported that 1,000,000 Syrian Turkmen (including descendants) who are living in Turkey are requesting to become Turkish citizens.{{Cite web |last=Erkılıç |first=Orhan |year=2020 |title=Türkiye'deki Suriyeli Türkmenler de Vatandaşlık İstiyor |url=https://www.amerikaninsesi.com/a/turkiyedeki-suriyeli-turkmenler-de-vatandaslik-istiyor/5536622.html |access-date=17 December 2020 |publisher=Voice of America |quote=1 Milyon Suriyeli Türkmen Vatandaşlık Hakkından Yararlanmak İstiyor.}}
= Assyrians =
{{see also|Assyrians in Syria}}
Some Assyrians who have fled from ISIL have found temporary homes in the city of Midyat. A refugee center is located near Midyat, but due to there being a small Assyrian community in Midyat, many of the Assyrian refugees at the camp went to Midyat hoping for better conditions than what the refugee camp had. To their surprise,{{Clarify|date=July 2021}} many refugees were in fact given help and accommodations by the local Assyrian community there, perhaps wishing that the refugees stay, as the community in Midyat is in need of more members.{{Cite web |date=29 December 2014 |title=Middle Eastern Christians Flee Violence for Ancient Homeland |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141229-syriac-christians-refugees-midyat-turkey/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229215711/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141229-syriac-christians-refugees-midyat-turkey/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 29, 2014 |access-date=19 August 2017 |website=National Geographic}}
= Circassians =
{{see also|Circassians in Syria}}
Social status
= Education =
{{As of|2021}} there are 1.7 million Syrian refugee children in the country, and since 2017 the government has committed to integrating them into the national school system.{{Cite web|title=Inclusion of Syrian refugee children into the national education system (Turkey)|url=https://www.unicef.org/documents/inclusion-syrian-refugee-children-national-education-system-turkey-2|access-date=2021-07-29|website=www.unicef.org|language=en}}
= Economics =
{{As of|2019}} the trade minister said there were almost 14,000 Syrian owned businesses, which was almost 30% of the total number of foreign owned businesses, with a capital of 4 billion Turkish liras ($480 million).{{Cite web|title=How Syrian refugees contributed to Turkish economy - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/05/how-syrian-refugees-contributed-turkish-economy|access-date=2021-07-29|website=www.al-monitor.com|language=en}} About 40% of businesses are estimated to be jointly owned with Turks or other nationals.
Refugees of the Syrian civil war
{{Human toll of Syrian Civil War}}
Syrian refugees who fled the Syrian civil war make up the largest group of Syrians in Turkey. Turkey hosted nearly three million refugees when the Assad regime fell in December 2024.https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg6eeg87lqo
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.{{cite web |title=Total Persons of Concern by Country of Asylum |url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria# |website=data2 |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate=24 September 2018}} More than a third of the refugees are hosted in Southeastern Turkey, near the Syria-Turkey border.{{Cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/08/turkey-syria-syrian-refugees-kurdish-region.html|title=Syrians shifting demographics in Turkey's Kurdish regions - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East|date=10 August 2016 }}
= Milestones =
- June, 2011: Refugee flow into Turkey with the military siege of Jisr al-Shughour in the northwestern part of Syria.
- November, 2011: Turkey had spent up to $15 million to set up six camps for thousands of refugees and military defectors, however Turkish officials declare that Syrians are "guests" and not "refugees."
- April, 2012: Refugee flow ahead of UN ceasefire. Over 2,500 swell across Turkish-Syrian border in one day, the highest ever recorded.
- July, 2012: Refugee flow ahead of fighting in Aleppo.
- September, 2012: UNHCR reports that more than 11,000 Syrians flee into Turkey in a day's time.
- December, 2024: The Assad regime collapses and a new government is established.
=Settlement (repatriation, transit)=
{{Update section|date=December 2020}}
In 2014, the capacity of the camps established in 2012 and 2013 became insufficient.{{cite journal |last1=Boluk |first1=Gulden |title=Syrian Refugees in Turkey: between Heaven and Hell? |journal=Mediterranean Yearbook (Observatory of Euro Mediterranean Policies) ) |date=2016 |issue=2016 |page=119 |url=https://www.iemed.org/observatori/arees-danalisi/arxius-adjunts/anuari/med.2016/IEMed_MedYearBook2016_Syrian%20Refugges%20Turkey_Baluk_Erdeum.pdf |accessdate=29 July 2019}} In 2014, refugees according to their own preferences begin to migrate across provinces.
About 30% live in 22 government-run camps near the Syrian border.{{cite web|url=http://syrianrefugees.eu/?page_id=80|title=Turkey – Syrian Refugees|accessdate=11 June 2015|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150312005943/http://syrianrefugees.eu/?page_id=80|archivedate=12 March 2015|df=dmy-all}}
The number of refugees in transit to Europe dramatically increased in 2015.{{cite journal |last1=Boluk |first1=Gulden |title=Syrian Refugees in Turkey: between Heaven and Hell? |journal=Mediterranean Yearbook (Observatory of Euro Mediterranean Policies) ) |date=2016 |issue=2016 |page=118 |url=https://www.iemed.org/observatori/arees-danalisi/arxius-adjunts/anuari/med.2016/IEMed_MedYearBook2016_Syrian%20Refugges%20Turkey_Baluk_Erdeum.pdf |accessdate=29 July 2019}}
== 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2016/07/09/Up-to-300000-Syrians-could-get-Turkish-citizenship-report|title=Up to 300,000 Syrians could get Turkish citizenship: report|last=AFP|publisher=}} 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.{{Cite journal |last1=Baban |first1=Feyzi |last2=Ilcan |first2=Suzan |last3=Rygiel |first3=Kim |date=2016-06-08 |title=Syrian refugees in Turkey: pathways to precarity, differential inclusion, and negotiated citizenship rights |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2016.1192996 |journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=41–57 |doi=10.1080/1369183x.2016.1192996 |s2cid=147858169 |issn=1369-183X}} 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.{{Cite journal |last1=Koser Akcapar |first1=Sebnem |last2=Simsek |first2=Dogus |date=2018-03-29 |title=The Politics of Syrian Refugees in Turkey: A Question of Inclusion and Exclusion through Citizenship |journal=Social Inclusion |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=176–187 |doi=10.17645/si.v6i1.1323 |issn=2183-2803|doi-access=free }} There is no automatic citizenship for those born in the country.{{Cite web |title=ACQUISITION OF TURKISH CITIZENSHIP |url=https://en.goc.gov.tr/kurumlar/en.goc/Brosurler/9_TR_VATANDASLIGI_ENG-2.pdf}}
= Conditions =
File:Campo de refugiados em Suruç.jpg
File:Syrian refugee camp on theTurkish border.jpg
File:USAID Assistant Administrator Lindborg Interacts With Syrian Refugees (8411500481).jpg
File:Syrian Refugee Child in Istanbul.jpg{{Undue precision}}
{{Update section|date=December 2020}}
- 595,280 individuals reached through information campaigns, participatory assessments, activities to raise public awareness on rights, entitlements, services and assistance;
- 205,899 children with protection needs were identified and referred to services;
- 115,225 children participated in structured, sustained child protection or psycho-social support programme;
- 145,433 youth and adolescents have attended empowerment programme enhancing their participation, communication, peer-to-peer interaction and self-confidence;
- 18,793 Individuals, including children, have been reached through community-based initiatives for prevention and mitigation of gender-based violence;
- 593,616 individuals have received hygiene kits, dignity kits or sanitary items;
- 87,198 individuals have benefited from assistance in accessing adequate shelter;
- 470,000 Syrians and host community members have benefited from improved municipal services, focusing among others on waste and waste water management.
==Financial aid ==
{{Update section|date=December 2020}}
Turkey allocated US$30 billion between 2011 and 2018 on refugee assistance.{{cite news |title=Turkey spends $30 billion on Syrian refugees: FM - Turkey News |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-to-continue-responding-to-humanitarian-crises-121982 |access-date=18 November 2021 |work=Anadolu Agency via Hürriyet Daily News |date=6 November 2017 |language=en}}
Millions of 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.{{cite web|title=Syrian Refugees in Turkey: The Long Road Ahead|date=21 April 2015|url=http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/syrian-refugees-turkey-long-road-ahead|publisher=Migration Policy Instıtute|accessdate=3 May 2015}}
Financial aid from other countries to Syrian Refugees has been limited, though €3,200,000,000 was promised by the EU in November 2015.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/30/world/europe/eu-offers-turkey-3-billion-euros-to-stem-migrant-flow.html|title=Turkey, EU agree 3-billion-euro aid deal to stem migrant crisis |last=Kanter |first=James |date=29 November 2015 |work=New York Times |accessdate=14 February 2016}} 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.'{{Cite journal|last=Tsourapas|first=Gerasimos|date=2019-10-01|title=The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Foreign Policy Decision-Making in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey|url=https://academic.oup.com/jogss/article/4/4/464/5487959|journal=Journal of Global Security Studies|language=en|volume=4|issue=4|pages=464–481|doi=10.1093/jogss/ogz016|issn=2057-3170|doi-access=free}}
In 2018, the Directorate General of Migration Management built a fingerprint identification system for a more efficient distribution of financial aid to Syrian Refugees.{{cite web|title=Biometric Refugee Registration in Turkey|date=8 January 2021|url=https://www.aratek.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Aratek-Case-Study-Biometric-Refugee-Registration-in-Turkey.pdf|publisher=Aratek Biometrics|accessdate=5 October 2021}}
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.{{Cite web|date=2021-12-02|title=EU provides $368 mln boost for refugees in Turkey|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/12/02/EU-provides-368-mln-boost-for-refugees-in-Turkey|access-date=2021-12-02|website=Al Arabiya English|language=en}}
== 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. {{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/majority-of-syrians-in-turkey-employed-in-unregistered-work-for-lower-wages-survey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=115198&NewsCatID=347|title=Majority of Syrians in Turkey employed in unregistered work for lower wages: Survey – LABOR|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=6 July 2017 |accessdate=25 October 2017}}
However, compared to the increase in refugees, benefits for the increased number of people did not increase accordingly.{{Clarify|reason=sentence hard to understand - what benefits?|date=August 2021}} In fact, only 712,218 were given residency permits only 56,024 work permits were given to the Syrians by 2017.{{cite web |last1=cagaptay |first1=Soner |title=Syrian Refugees in Turkey |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/syrian-refugees-in-turkey |publisher=The Washington Institute for Near East Policy |accessdate=22 August 2018}}{{Update inline|date=August 2021}}
== 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.{{Cite news|url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/turkey/publication/turkeys-response-to-the-syrian-refugee-crisis-and-the-road-ahead|title=Turkey's Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the Road Ahead|work=World Bank|access-date=28 May 2017|language=en}}
== Nativism, welfare chauvinism and militarism ==
Nativism 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 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.{{Cite journal |last1=Koytak |first1=Huseyin Zeyd |last2=Celik |first2=Muhammed Hasan |date=August 6, 2022 |title=A Text Mining Approach to Determinants of Attitude Towards Syrian Immigration in the Turkish Twittersphere |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393221117460 |journal=Social Science Computer Review|doi=10.1177/08944393221117460 |s2cid=251434125 }} Another academic analysis says that militarism (about both historical and current military conflicts in Syria) is important in how Turks think about their nationality.{{Cite journal |last=Siviş |first=Selin |date=2023 |title=The use of cultural repertoires of everyday nationhood and citizenship in national identity boundary-drawing: The case of Syrian refugees in Turkey |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-4446.13038 |journal=The British Journal of Sociology |language=en |volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=657–672 |doi=10.1111/1468-4446.13038 |issn=1468-4446|doi-access=free }}
== Racism ==
{{Main|Anti-Arabism in Turkey}}
Anti-Arab sentiments in the country have significantly increased since the influx of Syrian refugees into Turkey.{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/.premium-palestinians-were-spared-turkey-s-rising-anti-arab-hate-until-now-1.7491287|title=Palestinians Were Spared Turkey's Rising anti-Arab Hate. Until Now|date=2019-07-16|work=Haaretz|access-date=2019-08-27|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/turkey-syria-anti-arab-sentiment-tremblay.html|title=Anti-Arab sentiment on rise in Turkey|last=Tremblay|first=Pinar|date=2014-08-21|website=Al-Monitor|language=en|access-date=2019-08-27}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/syrian-refugees-who-fled-turkey-face-backlash-n978831|title=Syrian refugees who were welcomed in Turkey now face backlash|website=NBC News|date=18 March 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-27}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/tr/politics/2013/11/turkey-anti-syria-sentiment-increase.html|title=Anti-Syrian sentiment on the rise in Turkey|last=Halis|first=Mujgan|date=2013-11-13|website=Al-Monitor|language=tr|access-date=2019-08-29}}
= Education =
As of March 2018, about 60% (600,000 primary and secondary education) of Syrian school-aged children under temporary protection remain in school.{{cite book |last1=Editorial |title="Assistance to Syrian refugees in Turkey" Conference document |date=24 April 2018 |publisher=Brussels II Conference |location=Brussels |page=3 |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/34146/turkey-partnership-paper.pdf |accessdate=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 The EU has supported education, through a €300 million direct grant to the Ministry of National Education. Turkey's educational support:
- National Conditional Cash Transfers for Education of 2017 (CCTE): 300,000 Syrian children's family received. Cash Transfers to families encourages (1) enrolment, (2) improves school attendance (3) referral of children at risk to Child Protective Services
- Early childhood and pre-primary education: 45,580 enrolment.
- Formal education (Grades 1–12): 612,603 enrolment.
- Informal non-accredited education (Sunday school): 20,806 enrolment.
- State universities: 19,332 enrolment (Turkey waived tuition fees)
- Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP): targeting 10 to 18-year-old out-of-school adolescents.
- Teachers and education personnel: 128,843 education personnel acquired special training. 12,965 Syrian volunteer trainers and education personnel were provided with financial compensation.
= Healthcare =
=Statistics =
{{As of|2022|03|31}} there are 3,763,565 registered Syrian refugees in Turkey.{{Cite web|url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria/location/113|title=UNHCR Situation Syria Regional Refugee Response – Turkey|date=11 November 2021|publisher=Government of Turkey|accessdate=17 November 2021}}
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See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=syriandiaspora Syrian diaspora] at Flickr Commons
{{Syrian diaspora}}
{{Demographics of Turkey}}
{{Syrian refugee camps}}
Category:Ethnic groups in Turkey
Category:Syrian diaspora in Asia
Category:Refugees of the Arab Winter
Category:Refugees of the Syrian civil war
Category:Syrian diaspora in the Middle East