Page 112 - Syrians in Türkiye - Special Report

GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TÜRKİYE THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

representatives of the relevant public institutions and organizations, universities, and
non-governmental organizations serving the area. In the follow-up and supervision
tasks of this commission, field surveys are carried out by teams formed by representatives
of the relevant institutions in areas where children are commonly made to work or beg.
Children who are found working or begging in the streets due to economic deprivation
and their families are supported with social assistance.

For families that insist on making their children to work or beg in the streets despite
social support and awareness-raising activities, AFAD established Düziçi TAC in
Osmaniye with a capacity of 5,000 people on behalf of DGMM. In this scope, Syrian
children who are found to be forced to beg or the families who are exploiting their
children are reported to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management and
are directed to Osmaniye Düziçi TAC to be provided with accommodation, nutrition,
healthcare, education, and psychosocial support services.
Child labor is another important problem for child refugees. Many reports state
that Syrian families in our country, in particular the ones that live in cities and have
economic difficulties, do not send their children to school and force their children work
for a living. The study entitled “Opinions of the Turkish Business World on Syrians
in Türkiye: Prospects, Expectations and Recommendations” by Hacettepe University’s
Migration and Political Research Center (HUGO) for the Turkish Confederation of
Employer Associations aimed to present the existence and problems of child labor
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with a scientific approach. This study found that there are a considerable number of
Syrian children who have to work due to informality and living conditions, especially in
urban areas. TESEV-ORSAM’s report called “The Effects of Syrian Asylum Seekers
on Türkiye, 2015” states that “Another social problem caused by asylum seekers is child
labor. A small proportion of Syrian children living outside the camps are able to receive
education. The main reason is that the state and non-governmental organizations are
not yet able to provide this opportunity adequately. Another equally important factor
is that Syrian families are encouraging their children to work rather than sending them
to school. Because of the need for money, children are put to work in all areas. Children
who sell different products in the streets are the exposed faces of this business.”

“In addition to this, Syrian children are employed as a cheap labor force in factories or
as apprentices in various shops. The exploitation of women and children has emerged
mostly in the form of employment of very young children. In Adana there are insufficient
educational facilities for Syrian asylum seekers, leaving these children idle and open

65 M. Murat ERDOĞAN and Can ÜNVER “Opinions of the Turkish Business World on Syrians in Türkiye:
Prospects, Expectations and Recommendations,” Presentation at the Turkish Confederation of Employer
Associations, Ankara, 2015, available from http://tisk.org.tr/project/turk-is-dunyasinin-turkiyedeki-suriyeliler-
konusundaki-gorus-beklenti-ve-onerileri/.

112 SYRIANS IN TÜRKİYE SPECIAL REPORT