Syrian Refugees and Our Deteriorated Demographic Structure

Deteriorated Turkish Demographic Structure:

The issue of why, why, how and for what purpose Syrian immigrants are in our country, which has become a popular problem today, is a subject that needs to be analyzed very deeply.

It would be beneficial to conduct a multi-faceted analysis in terms of its technical and strategic dimensions. No matter how shallow we look, it has become very clear to all of us that apart from those who benefit from the situation, it will not be beneficial for our country. Why?

Because this situation causes serious demographic pressure for every country. The word demography is also known as population science. It is a science that examines the structure, status and dynamic characteristics of the population in the world or in a country. It is derived from the Greek words demos and graphein. Studies on births, deaths, migrations and aging are carried out by this branch of science.

Demographic structures are of vital importance for countries. All social, cultural, material and spiritual institutions of the society are built on this structure. The use of other national resources, all political and social events interact with the demographic structure. The welfare, education, culture, progress and development of the society and the functionality of all state institutions depend on this structure. The economic, military and political power and deterrence of the state are under the influence of this structure. For this reason, all developed countries make great efforts to regulate the function of the demographic structure for the country, to take measures accordingly, to make targets, and to construct the plans according to the form of this structure in the process. Developing countries like ours, on the other hand, make an effort to settle this structure, gain partial stability (balance), and make it predictable and planable. Improbable deviations in the demographic (national affiliation) structure adversely affect the entire society and all the planning of the state. It brings with it new costs, additional burdens and material and moral costs.

Population Movements from Outside of Turkey:

The young Republic, which came out with great losses from the War of Independence, took a total of 2 million people as emigrants between 1922-45. In the following years, the country faced negligible external migration. However, some events and instabilities recorded in the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus, where our country is located, after 1980, led to migration movements towards Turkey.

For example, 51,500 people from Iraq in 1988 and 345,000 people from Bulgaria in 1989 flocked to Turkish lands in the form of mass migration. Again in 1991, after the First Gulf War, about 467,500 people from Iraq, about 20,000 people who fled from Serbian persecution from Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992-1999, about 17,750 people from Kosovo, which was also affected by Serbian oppression, and 10,500 people from Macedonia in 2001. He immigrated to Turkey.

Among all the external migration movements, the most intense migration movement was the Syrian origin immigrants encountered in the 2010s. The immigration wave of the Syrians, which differs in many ways when compared to other immigrations, has played a role in disrupting the social balances and dynamics as an important demographic pressure and problem for our country. According to the researches, the Syrian immigrant population has a younger structure than the population of our country. For some reason, the relevant government units of Turkey could not provide a reliable information on how many of the Syrian immigrants work in a regular job that generates income, how many of them work in jobs that comply with legal regulations, and how many of them work informally. Maybe it wasn't made public.

Situation of Syrians in Turkey:

According to the reports of the press and academic centers, it is reported that the number of registered Syrians in Turkey is around 10-15 thousand. Again, according to the estimations of these sources, between 1.2 million and 1.5 million unregistered Syrian workers continue to work in various workplaces in Turkey in order to earn a living.

When we make an assessment in the light of these data, it is understood that 2,566,142 Syrians, excluding those who participated in the training, are in need of care, assistance, work and minimum living conditions. Along with those in education, in addition to adequate nutrition, health, security, social and cultural needs, it is necessary to ensure that Syrians in Turkey adapt to Turkish society life and values.

It is not clear how long Syrian immigrants will stay in our country. Whereas; If those who come with such migrations stay in a country for more than five years, their desire to return to the place they came from disappears and the option to return may be shelved, as they can somehow integrate into the conditions of the country of immigration.

Even the stay of such an 'external population' for five years has been calculated by experts as approximately 35 billion TL for the Turkish economy. A financial burden of this magnitude means additional expense for Turkey. It is in question that this subject is a burden on the budget and is an item in the increase in inflation.

If the Syrians continue to stay in Turkey from now on and the option to return is closed, a general cost calculation should be made, such as the calculation for the cost of education. If Syrians are accepted as a permanent population, even the health, education, accommodation and transportation expenses of so many people will amount to a large amount. In a country like Turkey, where job resources are limited, even if financial support is received from the European Union, similar to what was done in 2016, the Turkish State should ultimately fulfill the responsibility of providing the Syrians in our country with humane living opportunities. Being a social state requires it.

A Long-Term Planning for Syrians Needs to be Made:

Looking at what has been analyzed so far, it is seen that there is a need for material and moral efforts for these people to become a part of Turkish society. One should not fall into a mistake and look at the issue only in monetary terms. However, the integration of such a large Syrian population into life in Turkey is a major event in itself. Family structure of Turkish people, household income and expenses, schooling rate, literacy rate, number of classrooms and planning, share of contribution to GNP (gross national product), share of health and social assistance, need and cost of housing and space It is clear that many similar factors will be affected by this shock participation. It is understood that some of these will disrupt the short, some medium and some long-term national plans and may cause the country to go back a few years in some areas.

Considering the fact that a developing country like Turkey does not have rich resources, it is inevitable that the level of social welfare, which is a reflection of the sharing of existing national resources, will decrease. It is obvious that the decline in the welfare level will have obvious social and societal repercussions. For this reason, it should be emphasized that it would not be right to spend Turkey's limited resources, which are not even enough for its own people, for the welfare of the Syrian refugees, and that this would be an evil equivalent to playing with the bread and future of the Turkish people.

The analytical and observational evaluations made so far include the quantitative dimension of the subject. However, in my opinion, what is really important is the qualitative dimension and the "cultural effects" below it. In this respect, the most important problem is the problem of "nationalization" or nation building.

Nation Building Processes:

The subject of 20th century political history has been “nations” and “nation-states”. Societies have gone through great social changes and chaos in this process and have been able to maintain social order through nationhood and/or nation-state. Nationization is possible by uniting common national values ​​and shared common culture within the framework of an ideal and directing towards certain great goals with a holistic view.

Simply, “to be one with joy and worry”; “to have a common say and dominance over a certain geography”; “to be independent and sovereign at home and abroad”; The concept of "nationhood", which is tied to general theories such as "securing the use of democratic rights in an indiscriminate and classless manner and accepting this as a whole society", is an extremely sensitive issue and an extremely special issue for the continuity of the country. The consciousness of “nationhood and being a nation”, which was brought from the ancient (from the past), imposed and gained by spreading over time with soft transition processes; If it is not brought from the ancients and imposed, it requires a long process of "acculturation-acculturation" and even "enculturation" for the new generation. We are talking about a population of 3.5 million whose mother tongue is different, lifestyle is different, and whose education level is almost 100 years behind the Turkish education system. It is debatable how much these people internalize national consciousness even in their own homeland. It would be a very optimistic expectation to bring such a large group of people who want additional attention and support into the Turkish nation and expect a healthy harmony and "national consciousness" formation from there.

Aside from the economic and demographic problems that this situation has caused; It is clearly evident from the posts made in news bulletins and social media every day that it invites numerous problems in terms of cultural, political and administrative aspects. Whereas; If the situation is considered in terms of demographics, it is obvious that it will lead to a multifaceted process regression for the country. In terms of Syrian refugees, birth, death, marriage, divorce, number of households, household population and average household number of persons, household workforce, household employment, household income and expenditures, health, education, population density, population movements, etc. it is not possible to reach many demographic criteria, so we do not have reliable information. The absence of both analytical and scientific research on the subject does not make it possible for us to make an assessment in terms of the criteria in question.

Internal and External Security Dimension:

The internal security dimension of the issue is also important. It is thought that it will be an important problem in terms of military duties and social reflections, civil defense, mobilization, key personnel, and the country's civil and social responsibility commodity. In return for the sharing of resources, social responsibilities and duties are not shared/underly shared/cultural interruptions and cultural delays may emerge as causes of conflict in terms of social movements (movements) for a society. It can become extremely problematic for inner peace. The country's economic and cultural weakening; It can lead to the erosion/erosion of the traditional values ​​that make up the Turkish "ideal", and to the damage of national feelings and centralized administration approach. On the other hand, the evaluation of the subject in terms of external security requires a very versatile analysis.

Conclusion:

In this article, it is aimed to draw the attention of the Turkish society to the Syrian refugees by making a very superficial evaluation in the light of the information obtained from open sources. It is a simple fact that the Syrian refugees cause demographic, cultural, security and socio-economic problems at the national level and they will continue to open more and more in the coming years. It is essential to produce an urgent solution for the Syrian refugees, who have been standing in the middle without a solution for about 5 years and whose numbers are increasing day by day. Otherwise, a new sub-society or, in other words, a sub-identity will emerge in the country in the short term. This sub-society and sub-identity 'foreign' to Turkish society, with a homogeneous 'Syrian' understanding, may cause divisions in Turkish society and new social and national problems. The biggest problem that has bothered Turkish society in recent days is the integration problem of Syrians. It is their disproportionate movements that cause discomfort to the people and their presenting their own 'transport' culture as an imposition on the main element of this country, instead of adapting.

As it is now, if the necessary measures are not taken and the necessary steps are not taken for the Syrians to be sent or for their compulsory integration into Turkish society if they are to stay in Turkey; The formation of new social institutions in sociological terms (family, belief, group, community, etc.) in Turkey's socio-cultural infrastructure and their conflict with the existing values ​​of the social structure will be inevitable. In the millennium age we live in, countries are no longer faced with land occupations. The current example is the Russia-Ukraine war. Countries are brought to their knees by being destabilized first.

Turkey's resources are certainly not unlimited. For this reason, irregular escapees should be prevented immediately. Now, the threshold of speaking, discussing and expressing opinions on this issue has been exceeded, and the process that needs action has been entered.

Note:

In this article, the statistical data of 2017 on the website of the state immigration administration was used.