The Situation of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, Turkey has been a key actor in managing the massive influx of refugees who have fled the Syrian Civil War. From its political to its humanitarian dimensions, managing this situation has presented clear challenges to both Turkey and Europe. Indeed, devising a solution to this complex and multi-faceted challenge has become a critical aspect of Turkish-European relations.
This program aimed to bring together policy makers, officials and numerous experts at the forefront of migration and refugee issues.  We are committed to the exchange between people and ideas as prerequisites for meeting the challenges of a globalized world.

The German Delegation was composed of distinguished Migration Experts from the German Chancellery, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, the German Bundestag, the Parliamentary group of the CDU Party and important Think Tanks, who had the chance to exchange ideas and perspectives with International and Turkish counterparts regarding the Migration Challenge for Turkey and the European Union of continuing geo-political and humanitarian importance to Germany, Turkey, and the wider European and Middle Eastern Region.

The Delegation program started with the Conference titled “The Situation of the Syrian Refugees in Turkey” on the 17th of September. The Director of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Turkey, Walter Glos, opened the conference by noting that the goal of the conference was not only to understand the situation of migrants and refugees in Turkey, but also to understand the context behind the development of the refugee issue, and to correct some of the many misconceptions on the issue. Continuing on this, KAS Migration Expert Christian Bilfinger noted the importance of KAS’ ability to bring those of different backgrounds together using its network reaching across Ankara and Berlin, thus helping to make sure that in this critical time, all groups remain looking outwards. The final opening speaker, Deputy of Antalya (AK Party) Atay Uslu, noted that migration cannot be viewed as merely a security issue, but rather one with clear humanitarian dimensions. Thus, Turkey has not been able to close its doors to the refugees. He continued by noting how a movement on this scale can change not only the politics of a region, but more widely its entire geography. In doing so, he touched on the theme, how refugees not only adapt to their new homes, but how their new homes also change and adapt to refugees.
Following these openings, Prof. Dr. Murat Erdogan presented his report - which can be downloaded from the KAS website - titled “The Situation of Syrian refugees in Turkey”. His report focused on how Turkey was forced to rapidly adjust from being a state with only 58,000 refugees in 2011 to the world’s biggest host country today, with almost 4 million refugees. This development, Prof. Erdogan noted, has profoundly affected Turkish society, influencing the Turkish labor market, education system, and domestic and foreign policy. Prof. Erdogan then noted that Turkey’s willingness to handle this situation has been remarkable, but the continuation of such support is tenuous.

In the first roundtable, Bukent Bahar Divrak of the Turkish NGO SGDD-ASAM explained the organization’s work in supporting refugees, especially those who face multiple degrees of oppression as women, or members of LGBT community, disabled, or other vulnerable groups. This support is wide-ranging and fits the specific needs of the refugees. Next, Asst. Prof. Dr. Nihal Eminoglu explained how not only national or supranational, but also local level politics play an important role in managing the refugee influx in Turkey. While noting their lack of international vision, she explained how the work of these communities in integrating refugees into their local communities is invaluable. Thereafter, Miresi Busana then discussed the role of international NGOs – in this case GIZ – in promoting the important issue of social cohesion in Turkey. Noting that actually achieving cohesion is elusive, Busana made the point that interaction is necessary but not sufficient, and must be complemented by quality contact. ILO expert Nejat Kocabey then discussed the important role of the economy and businesses in promoting integration. As such, he elaborated on the ILO’s contribution and three main goals in working with refugees, to ensure access to work, find vacancies, and eliminate any hurdles preventing employment. In the final talk of this first session, Pinar Ozel discussed the important issue of integrating Syrian children into the Turkish education system. Noting the goal of this is to bind Syrian and Turkish groups together, she noted how the Turkish education system has focused on intensive language courses as a tool to break down barriers between Syrians and Turks.

European Stability Initiative Senior Analyst Katharina Knaus began the second session by examining the EU’s migrant deal with Turkey. Noting that it had much success in lowering the number of migrants crossing to Greece, she noted that the details of the deal still need full implementation to ensure its success, such as more immigration judges in Greece or lower visa rejections for Turks. The next speaker, Claudia Amaral of the EU’s office in Turkey, discussed the many forms of protection and support the EU seeks to provide refugees in Turkey. She noted that this process is extremely complex and multi-dimensional, and thus how the EU seeks to continually improve it offerings range of programs, and thus must remain constantly flexible and vigilant. Asst. Prof. Sezgin Mercan then gave an overview of the current situation of Turkey-EU relations, noting how the Turkish-EU relationship has recently seen stalling and fractures, based on differing geopolitical situations and strategic assessments. Vice Presidential Foreign Affairs Advisor Halil Afsarata provided the keynote speech to this session, pointing out the financial elements of caring for refugees in Turkey. While stressing Turkey’s appreciation for any support from Europe, he discussed how much of this money has only belatedly arrived in Turkey, if at all, and the Turkish government and Turkish NGOs are often unable to access these funds even when they do arrive.

The keynote speaker of the 3rd session, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Han began by examining the current geopolitical situation in Syria. He in particular focused on the safe zones in Syria, and how they will be critical in enabling Turkey to deal with the refuge influx from what he argues will be an inevitable assault on the last Syrian opposition stronghold of Idlib. TEPAV Policy Analyst Omar Kadkoy then discussed the issue of the repatriation of Syrian migrants. He noted that despite Russian and Syrian regime desires, most Syrian refugees do not desire to return home – and even those who do are likely to return only at a slow and cautious rate, given fears of continued persecution and the question of confiscated property. Thus, the Syrian refugee issue is one which is likely to have long-term importance. Thereafter, UNHCR Deputy Representative Jean-Marie Garelli described the UNHCR’s role in the refugee resettlement process, noting that the organization‘s work in supporting refugees in finding asylum, and in directing the most urgent asylum cases to possible states of resettlement. He noted however that the pace of legal resettlement in Turkey is far too slow, with only 55,000 resettlements out of 1.4 million cases. Emergency Coordinator of the IOM Mazen Aboulhosn then finished the session by also noting the slow pace of refugee resettlement. He then described the role played by the IOM in refugee resettlements, stressing its concrete work in logistics, visa affairs, health, and ensuring local support for refugees upon arrival in their new homes.

In the fourth and final session on Sharing Best Practices, Berat Kjamili, the founder of the MIGPORT, Refugees Knowledge Sharing Platform, discussed how his own personal experiences led him to create a digital platform to help refugees gain better knowledge and insight of the migration processes, and reduce inequality among refugees. Orhan Hacimehmet of the Turkish Red Crescent then discussed the importance of the Kizilaycard, the Red Crescent’s Prepaid credit card issued to refugees to help them meet their most basic needs, and thereby create social cohesion. With more than 2.3 million recipients, and equal gender division, the program also encourages education and integrates refugees into Turkey’s welfare system. In the final discussion from this final session, Berna Kose discussed the work of IGAM, a recently founded Turkish NGO which tries to provide practical support to migrants, ranging from health, psychosocial, to legal support. 

The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Turkey hosted a Dinner Discussion titled “The Migration Challenge for Turkey and the European Union” the same evening. More than 120 high-profile guests were present, including 13 ambassadors, more than 30 diplomats from around 20 embassies, representatives of the presidential office, members of the Turkish parliament as well as important representatives and scientists from various Turkish and German institutions and organizations. The KAS Director Walter Glos began with introducing the discussion’s two keynote speakers, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister, Ambassador Faruk Kaymakci and EU Delegation to Turkey Ambassador Christian Berger. In his opening speech, he noted that the event was held in order to bring increased attention to this underappreciated issue of both foreign and domestic importance. Ambassador Kaymakci noted that the refugee problem is one which became unavoidable given the violent actions of the Assad regime in Damascus, and thus both the EU and Turkey have been forced to work together to find common solutions to common challenges. He notes the disputes which continue to affect Turkish-EU, and particularly Turkish-Greek, relations that he claimed to hinder the full implementation of the Turkish-EU refugee deal, yet also noted Turkey’s resolve to uphold its commitments and humanitarian position towards Syrian refugees. Ambassador Berger also began by noting the great importance of migration, noting that 3.5% of the world’s population consists in fact of migrants. However, he then drew a line between those who migrate freely, and those forced to migrate by violence. He claimed the EU’s goal in dealing with this perennial issue was to save lives and preserve the dignity of all those forced to flee their homes. Berger claims Europe’s extensive history of migration positioned it well to provide major support. It provides this support through cooperation with international organizations, NGOs, and working directly with the Turkish government. Ultimately though, he claimed EU solidarity must be measured in more than merely financial terms.

On the next day, the German Delegation began its meetings with various officials and groups involved with the migration issue at the German Embassy in Ankara. Here the group met with the Charge D’Affairs Dirk Rotenberg, Migration Specialist Daniel Krull, Dr. Manuel Paulus, and the head of GIZ in Turkey, Rubeena Esmail-Arndt. These talks focused on building German-Turkish relations, and how Germany can support Turkey in best handling the recent migration influx.  After visiting the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and learning how the Turkish Parlament works, the Delegation then met with Akif Cagatay Kilic, Deputy for Istanbul (AK Party), who is also Chairperson of the Turkish Delegation to the PACE, discussing issues ranging from Russia in the Council of Europe to questions of Turkish-German-EU relations. As with all meetings during the Delegation, the question of Syrians and their continued stay in Turkey was also a point of frequent discussion.

After touring Ataturk’s Mausoleum and the Ankara Castle, the Delegation then flew south for the second portion of the Delegation visit in Gaziantep and Kilis. The first event of the Delegation was to visit the Temporary Accommodation Center (TAC) Elbeyli, a refugee container camp near Kilis, on the zero-boarder-line to Syria. Here, the Delegation was able to meet with numerous staff and the director of the Camp, learning about the Camp’s role in processing refugees and providing a shelter for the most vulnerable. The Delegation then toured the camp themselves, and gain a personal understanding of the conflict’s human cost. The Delegation then drove into the center of Kilis, where they visited the Topcu Women’s Vocational Training Center. Here, they learned how organizations such as UNICEF have partnered with local municipalities to support the integration of refugee families, and female refugees. After this eye-opening and insightful visit, the Delegation met the Mayor of Kilis Mehmet Abdi Bulut over lunch to gain a further insight on how the region has been affected by and responded to the massive influx of Syrian refugees, who now outnumber the local population, as 81.4% of Kilis’s population is Syrian (as of 19.09.2019).

After returning from Kilis, the Delegation met with Adnan Unverdi, the President of the Gaziantep Chamber of Industry. Mr. Unverdi stressed that economic development is critical to the integration of Syrian refugees into Gaziantep. He also noted how the refugees provide an opportunity to Gaziantep, particularly once the rebuilding of Syria begins once a degree of stability is established. Much was also discussed about attempts to train the Syrians, and ensure they are a viable workforce, contributing to the local economy.  In its final meeting in Gaziantep, the Delegation met with Latif Karadag, the Deputy Mayor. Here, the discussion focused much on the ability of Gaziantep to host and integrate over 500,000 Syrian refugees, amounting to over 25% of its population. Mr. Karadag stressed that the city was committed to providing the most support possible to those in need, yet also needed more support  itself and hoped for a return to normality in the near future. At the same time, he accepted that many refugees will not be able to move back to Syrian due to ongoing instability, economic destruction, and trauma – and the city is thus committed to integrating Syrians to the greatest extent possible.

This Delegation Visit and Expert Exchange Program has proven the need for further discussion and that relations and cooperation between Germany and Turkey need to be strengthened. The exchange of knowledge as a result of the intensive and sustained discussions will contribute to future joint development of political solutions. In addition, the opportunity arose to create new networks and to strengthen the political, academic, and social ties between Turkey and Germany, as well as between Turkey and Europe. The participants of this program expressed their satisfaction with the program organization and content, the field trips, in particular with the distinguished experts and high-ranged dialogue partners.
It was suggested to repeat this kind of multi- and bilateral dialogue platforms and expert exchanges in the near future.