500.000 Syrian refugees Șanliurfa, that is really a lot for an existing population of 2 million. Turkey is doing a great job for the children of Syrian refugees in Șanliurfa but the integration of the adults seems to fail. Although most people support the shelter given to Syrian refugees, they worry about the consequences of housing 1 refugee on every 4 inhabitants in the province of Șanliurfa.
500.000 Syrian refugees Șanliurfa, that is really a lot for an existing population of 2 million. Turkey is doing a great job for the children of Syrian refugees in Șanliurfa but the integration of the adults seems to fail. Although most people support the shelter given to Syrian refugees, they worry about the consequences of housing 1 refugee on every 4 inhabitants in the province of Șanliurfa.
Turkey’s effectiveness to deal with a refugee crisis
Turkey has set up very good provisions for its refugees. In Europe one can hear sometimes remarques of doubt about the seriousness of Turkish expenses for refugees (EU gives billions to Turkey to shelter refugees in the region) but everybody traveling in the south can see that Turkey makes a serious business of good shelter. I saw that last year in Gaziantep and wrote a blog about that and I see it now in Șanliurfa. It is impressive and worth our support.
Problem 1: Competition for ordinary workers
So what is the problem? Well, the problem is not that Turkey is not taking care of the refugees but that they are different and they are many.
First of all, there is a competing situation for workers, especially in the low cost areas. Turkish poor work for little money and now Syrian workers have arrived and take their jobs for even less money. More than anybody, it is the workers who pay the price for 500.000 Syrian refugees Șanliurfa. They lost their jobs that brought already no more than poverty or they kept their job but their wages have gone down.
Problem 2: lack of integration, fear of ethnic conflict
Second, there are worries about long term effects of the lack of adult integration. Șanliurfa has camps and neighbourhoods that are Syrian dominated, for example in Harran exists a refugee camp that is almost a city in itself with 30.000 refugees (note that we do not talk tents and the like but normal housing and other infrastructure). This allows for targeted efforts such as education and association. Children are doing fine, they are learning Turkish and as a consequence also other lessons at school. But the adults do not seem to learn a lot. It is not clear why that is: do they still expect to return to Syria at short notice, are they too traumatized to learn, are they just not interested or not capable? On the other hand all-Syrian associations are developed in isolation of Turkish society. Some individuals are optimist and think that this is because the Syrian refugees want to return and they are succesfully preparing for that. However, general opinion is pessimist, that Syrian refugees are creating a state in a state with their own clubs and political parties that will form a danger for the status quo in Șanliurfa.
Opinions about Syrians in Șanliurfa
Șanliurfa is a province with a strong Arab minority. People here judge milder about Syrian culture than in 114 kilometer far Gaziantep. Nevertheless the inhabitants here consider themselves fully as Turcs and are as nationalist as other Turcs. They do admit cultural differences between themselves and Syrians, notably the fact that Syrians do not seem to love their country and fight for it, that there are thefts and cases of begging and child labour and that they lack in contribution to society as a whole, being rather passive towards organisation of work, education and other daily business issues. All express their worries that in the long term, if the Syrian war does not end and the refugees do not go back, there will be big problems in Șanliurfa.
Șanliurfa under occupation…
One man told me even that 500.000 Syrian refugees Șanliurfa means that ‘Șanliurfa is under occupation’. He is sure that President Erdogan will give citizenship to the refugees so that they will stay in Turkey for good. He thinks the risk of ethnic conflict is huge. ‘Every Syrian who is able to do something went to Europe’, he said, ‘we know that the Syrians who are stupid, unemployed and uneducated came to Șanliurfa’. They get so much aid in Turkey that their life has considerably improved compared to their status in pre-war Syria. ‘There is no reason for them to go back because their life has never been better than nowadays. It is not just that they have nothing to go back to because the war destroyed it all, it is because they simply didn’t have anything’. He told me that already 100.000 Syrian babies were born in Șanliurfa and explained that many Turkish citizens of Șanliurfa worry about these high Syrian numbers of birth.
North-Syria as the solution?
Several people I spoke to consider the Turkish military offensive in Syria, first in Afrin, now soon to come East of Euphrate, as a way to re-house Syrian refugees. They think it can be a solution for the increasing tensions between Turcs and Syrian refugees on Turkish soil. Occupying Syria’s North entirely, like the Ottomans used to do, seems a good idea to them as the Turkish army will surely create a peaceful North-Syrian region where the population can start rebuilding a future.
Turkey has shown great hospitality and also wonderful capability in infrastructure to house so many refugees in a human and dignified way. Now, after the efforts to deal with the crisis, the long term issues become more urgent every day.
Read more: an interesting article about Syrian refugees in Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah