Page 30 - Syrians in Türkiye - Special Report

GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TÜRKİYE THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

Considering that there are only two countries in Europe (Germany: 518,326 and
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Sweden: 114,585) that have more than 100,000 Syrian refugees, it is stunning to
see how many provinces there are in our country with more than 100,000 Syrians.
Below is a chart showing the most common places where Syrians under Temporary
Protection live, based on data from the Directorate General of Migration Management
dated December 21, 2017; as can be seen in the graphic, Istanbul alone is hosting more
Syrians than the total Syrian population in Germany, the country that has the most
Syrian refugees in Europe.
Graphic 3: Distribution of Syrians under temporary protection in top 10 provinces

537.084
600.000
462.077 456.761

500.000
349.039
400.000

300.000 191.263
170.362
134.490 131.793 128.690
200.000
99.212
100.000

0
iSTANBUL ŞANLIURFA HATAY GAZİANTEP MERSİN ADANA BURSA KİLİS İZMİR KONYA

(Source: DGMM)
Despite the Syrian population reaching such high numbers in such a short time, the
exemplary solidarity of the Turkish society in enacting its traditional belief in providing
hospitality to the traveler is the most valuable element in the process. By opening
its arms to people and communities who are in need, the Turkish society is teaching
humanity a great lesson beyond all comprehension.

Considering that the whole international community has been unable to find a solution
in the 7 years of the ongoing Syrian crisis, Türkiye’s pioneering of some important
improvements has provided a glimpse of hope. For example, Operation Euphrates
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UNHCR, Syria Regional Refugee Response: Total Persons of Concern, October, 2017 (accessed January 25,
2018); available from http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/asylum.

30 SYRIANS IN TÜRKİYE SPECIAL REPORT