Page 127 - Syrians in Türkiye - Special Report

GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TÜRKİYE THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

countries that do not tolerate even 5,000-10,000 refugees within their borders, new
models are being developed, from accommodation to security, education to health,
psychosocial support to all other fields, and great efforts are being carried out with
great sacrifice. Within this context, it should be emphasized that the spirit of solidarity
put forth by the Turkish society is beyond all discretion.

The Syrian crisis has revealed an extraordinary image of unequal sharing of the burden
as well as loyalty to universal principles. “The Open-Door Policy” has only become a
burden for neighboring countries. Despite their developed economies, the countries
that have built refugee policies with a “protective” approach have preferred to continue
to accept the minimum number of refugees and provide minimal financial support with
a goal of keeping problems out of their territories. This has led to further isolation of
neighboring countries in the crisis region. Aside from theoretical discussions, questions
have emerged: Why should a person who has escaped from the war in Syria seek refuge
only in neighboring countries? Do other countries not have a responsibility? According
to UNHCR data, a total of 983,876,97 international protection status applications
were made to EU countries, Norway, and Switzerland between April 2011 and June
2017. This corresponds to only 0.19% of the total EU population. In Türkiye, there are
at least 9 provinces which host more than 100,000 refugees each. In Lebanon, there
are approximately 1 million refugees, in excess of 16.6% of the 6.1 million population.
However, these conditions have been ignored by the international community. In order
for the EU, one of the most prosperous regions of the world, to have a similar proportion
of refugees to its population of 511.8 million, it would need to host 22.5 million refugees,
as refugees currently correspond to 4.4% of Türkiye’s population. However, not only the
EU, but also all the other wealthy countries have ignored justice, responsibility, burden-
sharing in this humanitarian crisis; the fact that they have provided financial support to
“externalize” the problems is a serious moral issue.

The Turkish society, which welcomed those fleeing from persecution and war, has made
a great sacrifice that it can be proud of today and in the future. However, being able to
sustain this sacrifice and understanding with a certain strategy is important for both
the refugees and Türkiye’s peaceful future. Türkiye should have a reliable, feasible and
mid- to long-term “migration management” strategy regardless of whether it receives
support from other countries. If the process cannot be managed well, it is clear that that
all the sacrifices will be wasted. The large number of Syrians, reaching 4% of population
of Türkiye, should be taken into consideration as an important factor in the relevant
efforts. Mass migration disrupts the host society for many reasons. Even though some
of the disruption is entirely perceptual, some has highly understandable, reasonable
justifications.

SYRIANS IN TÜRKİYE SPECIAL REPORT 127