Page 157 - Syrians in Türkiye - Special Report

GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TÜRKİYE THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

before the crisis. Syrians who are skilled as tradesmen and craftsmen are undertaking
commercial activities; they open small and medium-sized enterprises and bring
dynamism to the economy of the city where they live. For example, the number of
Syrian firms in Gaziantep province increased from 60 before the civil war to 879 in
2016. Syrian merchants export Turkish goods through their business connections in
the Middle East market, which contributes to lowering the effects of the crisis on Syria
in terms of continuing trade between cities on both sides of the Syrian-Turkish border.
Additionally, Syrians close the gap in labor in the agricultural sector, particularly in the
border provinces.

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According to information received from the Ministry of Economy, there were 6,528
Syrian capital companies operating in our country as of August 1, 2017. To examine
the sectoral distribution of companies with Syrian capital in Türkiye, a total of 3,499
companies are in the wholesale and retail trade sector. Syria is second only to Germany
in the number of companies with international capital across Türkiye.
According to information received from the Union of Chambers and Commodity
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Exchanges, there were a total of 6,505 Syrian nationals among the partners during the
period between 2010 and July 1, 2017, and 33 joint stock companies and 1,087 limited
partners were established in the first 7 months of 2017; from this information it is not
possible to determine how many Syrian nationals are shareholders in the total number
of joint stock companies at present because there is no obligation to register and declare
share transfers of joint stock companies in the Turkish Commercial Code.

On the other hand, Syrians have been working in the agricultural and construction
sectors and in small businesses at a lower cost than our citizens, in the informal economy
and sometimes in seasonal employment; this situation has become a problem in itself
and has caused the perception that the Syrians are stealing job from locals and cause
unfair competition.

A few important points on Syrian labor should be underlined within the scope of the
aforementioned situation: Syrians who are trying to find their place in the labor market
are willing to work in unskilled jobs they accept cheap wages and informal work.

1. Syrians create their own employment and open workplaces. 75
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The Ministry of Economy letter dated August 14, 2017.
74 The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges letter dated August 17, 2017.
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At present, there are evaluations of at least 10,000 enterprises in Türkiye, some of which are formally affiliated
with Syrians and some of which are in partnership with citizens of the Republic of Türkiye.

SYRIANS IN TÜRKİYE SPECIAL REPORT 157