Online discussion: After the Earthquakes: Future Prospects for the Refugees in Turkey
Discussants: Deniz Sert, Didem Danış and Eda Sevinin, Kemal Vurlan Tarlan, and Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, BICC, 17.04.2023
For the past 12 years, Turkey has hosted the largest refugee population in the world, with nearly 3.5 million refugees from neighbouring Syria. The powerful earthquakes of 6 February killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria, including at least 1,500 Syrian refugees living in the southeastern provinces. Already in a precarious legal and socio-economic situation, the earthquakes upended the lives of Syrian refugees, making them even more vulnerable than before. In recent years, refugees have come under increasing pressure from local resentment, discrimination, economic crisis and politicisation. There has also been a 'return obsession' at the discursive level, insisting on the repatriation of Syrians as soon as possible.
In this online event, panellists Dr. Deniz Sert, Dr. Didem Danış and Dr. Eda Sevinin from Göç Araştırmaları Derneği (GAR, the Association for Migration Research, İstanbul) shared their field observations on “earthquake and migration”. They addressed the displacement after earthquakes and additional challenges encountered by migrants and refugees, such as stigmatisation and exclusion. Civil society activist Kemal Vurlan Tarlan from Kırkayak Kültür Derneği (Gaziantep) discussed his observations on the further deterioration of Syrian Dom and Abdal’s living conditions in the region the severe problems experienced in access to essential services and humanitarian aid.
Panellists highlighted how the earthquakes caused large-scale post-disaster displacement of many earthquake victims and secondary displacement of some refugees, exacerbating existing inequalities and exacerbating existing fault lines and social tensions. Speakers discussed the ways in which anti-Syrian rhetoric and exclusionary practices were reinforced in the aftermath of the earthquakes. As Syrians were very aware of the social tensions, they tried to be invisible and unfortunately refrained from asking for aid or rights-based treatment. Speakers noted that despite all the negative developments in the aftermath of the earthquake, some positive examples of solidarity emerged. Some small Syrian NGOs mobilised their transnational networks to collect aid and deliver it to the whole neighbourhood, creating friendly interactions and hope for solidarity within and between communities. It was also mentioned that during the earthquakes, all the different communities (Turkish citizens, Syrian refugees, Dom-Abdals) experienced a tremendous shock and severe losses. We need all-inclusive and equal mechanisms to ensure the delivery of aid and support to all earthquake victims. No one should be left behind. "
Discussants underlined that how earthquakes caused large scale post-disaster displacement of many earthquake victims and secondary displacement of some refugees, existing equalities were aggravated and existing fault lines and social tensions worsened. Speakers talked on ways in which anti-Syrian speeches and exclusionary practices were reinforced afterwards of earthquakes. As Syrians have been very much aware of the social tensions, they tried to be invisible and unfortunately refrained from asking aid or right based treatment. Speakers stated that beside all the negative developments in the afterwards of earthquake, some positive solidarity examples also emerged. Some small Syrian NGOs mobilized their transnational networks to collect aid and delivered the aid to the entire neighborhood, creating friendly interactions and hope for solidarity in and between communities. It was also mentioned that with earthquakes, all different communities (Turkish citizens, Syrian refugees, Dom-Abdals) experienced a tremendous shock and severe losses. We need all-inclusive and equal mechanisms to ensure aid delivery and support to all earthhquake victims. No one should be left behind.
The panel discussion showed how the issue of return has been politicised in recent years as one of the main narratives of migration policy, in line with the EU's externalisation of migration policy. Migration has moved to the centre of the debate, especially in relation to legislation and the growing discourse of 'doing more'. However, the complexity of migration and the need to address individual needs and trajectories in policy design and implementation was underlined. They pointed out that the reasons for return are as diverse as the drivers of migration. Accordingly, speakers also highlighted different meanings of return, highlighted gaps in legal frameworks and pointed to different scenarios related to return policies. One example discussed in relation to return was the recent 'Stop the boats' campaign in the UK. Our consortium member and Member of the European Parliament, Prof. Strik, explained the changes in EU policies related to return and readmission policies. The panel concluded that the current debate on return is not evidence-based and that GAPs aims to contribute to the collection of research evidence from different stakeholders. They underlined how the GAPs research project could "influence knowledge, policy and public awareness".