Preliminary Reflections on Post-Assad Syria: Emerging Dynamics and the Complex Reality of Refugee Returns from Türkiye

On December 8, 2024, Syria witnessed a transformative moment when armed rebels, predominantly led by ’Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), gained control of Damascus, leading to President Bashar al-Assad’s departure from the country. This development, marking the end of a 14-year civil war, has created a complex mixture of hope and uncertainty among Syrian refugees, including the 2.9 million living under temporary protection in Türkiye. While the political transition suggests possibilities for a return, the reality on the ground reveals a more nuanced situation where security concerns…

TurkeyInside GAPsDecember 23, 2024SRII

Irregularisation as a process reproduced through the asylum system in Greece

In the context of return migration from Greece, whether considered through the legal and institutional framework or the research on the ‘Return Migration Infrastructures’, the issue of regularity versus irregularity is inescapable. Irregularity has become a central concept in dominant public discourses about migration, often defined in opposition to regularity—or, more specifically, legality. By equating irregularity with illegality, this binary logic is used to stigmatize migrants as ‘threats’ to national and EU social and political structures. This oversimplification, however, neglects the complex ways in which irregularity is not simply a status but a process shaped by…

GreeceInside GAPsNovember 19, 2024EKKE

Forced Displacement as Refugee Return Amidst Regional War: The Plight of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Israel’s recent escalation in Lebanon, including the reported assassination of top Hezbollah leaders such as Hassan Nasrallah, is not just another chapter in the region’s long history of conflict—it is a direct attack on the very fabric of Lebanese sovereignty and a further destabilization of an already fragile region. The assassination signals Israel's ongoing tactic of dismantling political movements that resist its occupation and expansionist policies, disregarding…

Turkey, Palestinian Territories, GazaInside GAPsOctober 7, 2024Ozyegin University

Search and Rescue in the Central Mediterranean Sea: Tunisia Between the Hammer and the Anvil

The Central Mediterranean route connects Libya and Tunisia with Italy and Malta. It has long been the deadliest and most perilous path in the world. According to the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM)’s Missing Migrants Project, the number of migrant deaths and disappearances across the Mediterranean surged from 2,048 in 2021 to 2,411 in 2022 reaching 3,041 by the end of 2023. The region…

TunisiaInside GAPsSeptember 24, 2024University of Sousse

Jordan's Open Doors: Embracing Refugees Without Borders

Until late 2022, more than 670,000 people from Syria had sought refuge in Jordan, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with over 85% of Syrians living outside refugee camps in rented accommodations. According to the Refugee Commission, Jordan also hosted asylum seekers and refugees from other countries during 2022, including 65,854 Iraqis, 12,934 Yemenis, 5,679 Sudanese, 651 Somalis, and 1,379 individuals from other countries…

JordanInside GAPsSeptember 23, 2024Hashemite University

The Palestinians’ Sumud in The West Bank – Once You Leave, Return is Out of The Question

With the ongoing war in Gaza, the displacement of millions and overwhelming human suffering, it is understandable that attention is focused on the narrow coastal strip. However, in the shadow of Gaza, significant displacements are also occurring in the West Bank. Once displaced, Palestinians face no possibility of return and their sumud – steadfastness in the face of expulsion – remains remarkably high.…

Germany, Gaza, Palestinian TerritoriesInside GAPsAugust 11, 2024BICC

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