Shattered dreams in Türkiye
Discrimination and violence
Türkiye hosts the highest number of refugees in the world. Since the start of the Syrian crisis, Türkiye has taken in nearly four million Syrian refugees. In the early years of this crisis, Syrians received a warm welcome in Türkiye. Now, in 2023, there seems to be little left of that welcoming spirit. Among other reasons, the severe economic crisis that the country suffers from seems to have been a fertile ground for growing anti-refugee sentiment. More and more refugees encounter abuse and violent treatment. They are not allowed to travel and settle freely in the country. And many are struggling to find work or find themselves in poor working conditions, often badly paid in the informal economy.
Talib* is a Syrian who lives with his wife and two children in a small flat in the city of Mersin, in the South-East of Türkiye. He told the Dutch Council for Refugees that Syrians are constantly being rejected. “When they hear that you are Syrian here, the conversation stops”, Talib says, “Something changes in their eyes and in the way they talk to you. I experience this out on the street, at the grocery store, and when I see my neighbours standing in the doorway. The rejection is palpable everywhere.”
Omar, who lives in Istanbul, told the Dutch Council for Refugees that racism is deeply rooted in the city. It makes him reluctant to speak Arabic when he is out on the streets. A couple of days ago, he saw an advertisement for a flat which explicitly included that it is ‘Not for Syrians’. “The flat I rent is dirty and too expensive, but I don't complain because I'm afraid my landlord will call the police and arrest me,” he adds.
Picked up off the street
Many Syrian refugees are concerned about being arrested. Most of them do not have permanent residency permits. Instead, they have temporary residence status (a so-called kimlik) that gives them limited rights and restricts where they can live. Should they travel outside their designated region, they risk being arrested and sent back to Syria.
Saba, who also lives in Istanbul, says that “no Syrian feels safe here anymore, regardless of whether they stay in their assigned area or not. Since 2022, the Turkish government has been - arbitrarily it seems - withdrawing kimliks”. According to Saba, "many Syrian refugees have been losing their right to stay in Türkiye without knowing that. They only discover it when they are asked to show their kimlik in the street or when the police knock on their door to tell them that their Turkish neighbours complain about loud music. You can be picked up out of nowhere and end up in a detention centre,” she adds.
Fear reigns among refugees. Every Syrian we speak to keeps their head down, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. We hear that fathers do not come back home from work. Others are being deported to Syria and are not heard from again. Saba told us that some of her friends have been afraid to go outside their homes for months. She herself avoids crowded places in Istanbul, where police are often present.
In the run-up to the Turkish presidential elections in May 2023, the opposition played on popular sentiment by promising to expel millions of Syrians from the country if they would win. Saba says that politicians are feeding the discontent in society with their hate speech. “Life here is really scary: I do not know any refugee who doesn't want to leave Türkiye,” she adds.
Rising xenophobia
In this already toxic climate, two devastating earthquakes struck Türkiye in February 2023. The south-eastern provinces of Türkiye, where most Syrian refugees live, were hit the hardest. According to official figures, nearly 51,000 people died and 107,000 were injured. More than half of the population in the earthquake zone fled, mostly to more western provinces.
Before the earthquakes, refugees already had to fend for themselves, and nothing changed after the earthquakes. The government's focus seems to have been mostly on assisting the affected Turkish people. Omar says that the earthquake stories are heart-breaking. For example, a mother spent five days under the rubble with her three kids. They kept in touch with family members who stood guard outside the collapsed building. The mother and the kids kept calling for help. No one did anything. At some point, the family members got a slightly hesitant response from one of the rescue workers: “Our priority at the moment is helping Turkish victims”. According to Omar, the mother died three days later, while the children were rescued two days after that.
“Syrians help Syrians, that’s what it comes down to” says H., who is a staff member of ASAM, a Turkish non-profit organisation that defends the rights and interests of refugees. From their office in the Turkish port city of Mersin - about an hour's drive from the earthquake area - H. says that the city has become a haven for about 650,000 victims from the earthquake.
At first, many victims had no option except to sleep on the streets, but soon hundreds of shelters opened their doors in Türkiye, including in Mersin. “Since the earthquake, tensions have only increased.” says H., “Although people in Europe have already forgotten the earthquake, the disaster is still felt everywhere in Türkiye”. H. told us that Turkish victims would protest if a shelter went to a Syrian family. “They would say: 'This is our country, we have priority!'” he sighs.
In the freezing cold
When her home in Antakya was destroyed, Ghalia moved into her daughter's two-bedroom flat in Mersin with nine other relatives.
In the middle of the night, Ghalia (56) stood in the street in her nightgown. “It was as if a bomb had exploded next to my bed”, she says about that disastrous night in February 2023. Her flat was still standing, but the damage was irreparable. The same could be said for the whole of Antakya, the Turkish city where she had lived for years. She and her family were left in the streets for two days until her son-in-law took them to Mersin.
About that experience, Ghalia says: “We were sheltered at a university campus. Two days later, my belongings were thrown out on the street. Turkish victims had moved in. We were no longer welcome. We looked for a house, but it was impossible. The rents were already incredibly high for refugees, and now with so much demand, the rent has increased fivefold.”
In Mersin, Syrian aid organisations stepped in to fill the gap left by the government. They opened up schools and warehouses for Syrians. But a few weeks later, these shelters were closed by government order, as a local Syrian aid worker told us. “Refugees had three choices: find shelter in another province, stay with relatives, or go to a tent camp elsewhere in the country. The government deliberately gave very little publicity to the latter option.”
Uncertain future
Ghalia and her relatives had no other option but to stay in the small flat of her daughter and son-in-law, whose financial situation was already dire. “Don't take too many pictures”, Ghalia says, looking around the two cramped rooms that now house 13 people. “We're among the lucky ones: at least we still have a roof over our heads.”
“People compare each other's suffering”, says the Syrian director of an aid organisation in Mersin. “I only lost one child; my neighbour lost five”, he says. “I'm lucky I don't live in a tent.” Whole towns have been destroyed. The remaining hospitals have a huge capacity problem. Severely injured Syrians have little access to health care, and thousands of refugees have moved in with relatives. A long-term solution is nowhere in sight. No one knows what to do next.
* The names of interviewees and organisations have been changed to pseudonyms where requested. The names and organisations are known to the editors.
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The Dutch Council for Refugees Supports Turkish partner Organisation
The Dutch Council for Refugees is working with our Turkish partner organisation ASAM to provide additional support to the refugee organisation following the devastating earthquakes. ASAM is assisting earthquake victims, and our support focuses on strengthening their capacity.