Will Syrians Return to Their Country?

“Syrians must return to their homeland”

Umit Ozdag

Will the Syrians who took refuge in Turkey due to the civil war that started in Syria in March 2011 and have been living in our country for years return to their countries? Discussions about the need for Syrians in Turkey to return to their countries had been going on for a long time. However, as the elections approached, this issue became one of the most important agenda items of political parties.

Turkish Government Policy: We Will Not Send Syrians

After the government's statement "We will not send the Syrians" on March 16, 2022, the speeches of the political parties that want the Syrians to be sent back to their homeland were evaluated as "populist" discourse. While trying to create a perception as if it wasn't, ways to send it were actively sought. Why? Because the promise of "sending the Syrians to Syria" by Ümit Özdağ, a Turkish political science professor, politician and writer, Chairman of the Zafer Party, suddenly created awareness in the political arena and His promise was embraced by the younger generations.Meanwhile, as the elections were approaching, political parties were compelled to act according to the pulse of the society.

Agreement between the EU and Turkey:

Turkey has always been a transit country for migrants trying to reach Europe. However, nowadays, immigrants come directly to Turkey not for transit, but for temporary work or settling. The reason for this is the open door policy towards refugees and migrants, especially in the great Syrian migration, and the famous EU-Turkey agreement with the EU in March 2016.

With this agreement, the European Union; In order to prevent refugees from crossing to Europe and to ensure that they stay in Turkey, it promised 3+3 billion Euros of financial funds to meet the needs of refugees who will stay in Turkey and fulfilled this promise, albeit belatedly. But there were also promises he did not keep. It would provide visa facilitation for Turkish citizens to enter the EU, the Customs Union would be updated, the Turkey EU process would start again. None of these were fulfilled.

The Agreement Is Not Fully Be Implemented:

On the other hand, according to the Readmission Agreement and the 1-to-1 formula, one of the Syrian refugees in Turkey had to be resettled to European countries in exchange for each irregular migrant caught in the EU being sent to Turkey. However, according to the Directorate of Migration Management, as of 07.04.2022, the number of Syrians settled in Europe in this context is only 32,752. So Europe; We have managed to trick us in every article of the agreement, or we have been deliberately tricked!

Immigrants from outside Europe are seen as "refugees" among the public, although they do not have legal refugee status in Turkey. However, in recent years, those who came to Turkey from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq or Africa are in the status of asylum seekers. Because, due to the geographical condition Turkey has placed in the Geneva Convention, non-European asylum seekers are not granted "refugee" status.

Since those who "collectively" fled the war in the neighboring country are expected to return after the war is over, Turkey has given Syrians the "temporary protection" status, which is another international protection status.

What Does Temporary Protection Mean?

Temporary protection is defined as "the protection provided to foreigners who forcibly left their country and cannot return, who cross the borders en masse in order to find emergency and temporary protection or individually during this mass influx, and whose international protection request cannot be individually evaluated".

It is not possible to talk about a specific figure regarding the number of Syrian refugees. The numbers of asylum seekers do not change from year to year, month to month or even day to day. Since irregular/illegal entries to Turkey cannot be prevented or recorded, the accuracy of the figures given is not assured. Because there are many unregistered foreigners. Although some of the refugees who see Turkey as a transit base have moved to European countries, the number of refugees entering Turkey continues to increase. In terms of the number of Syrians and citizens of other nationalities, Turkey is currently the country hosting the largest refugee population in the world.

Syrians in Turkey in Numbers:

According to the data of the General Directorate of Migration Management (DGMM) affiliated to the Ministry of Interior, the number of Syrians under "temporary protection" in Turkey as of March 17, 2022 is 3,751,889. As can be seen in the chart, the number of Syrians under temporary protection status registered in Turkey as of 07.04.2022 was 3,761,267.

Figures show that the number of Syrian refugees is increasing every year and constitutes the largest group among foreign nationals in Turkey. In addition to the Syrians under temporary protection, the number of Syrians living in Turkey with a residence permit was 99,643 in 2018. The number of Syrians who have obtained citizenship is 193,293 people, 84 thousand 152 of whom are children, by the end of 2021. In addition, according to TUIK data dated December 1, 2021, the number of people who have a valid address statement, an identity document that replaces a residence or residence permit, and a work permit is 1 million 792 thousand 36.

Hatay Mayor's Outstanding Words:

Despite some news of "voluntary return" and those who received "citizenship", the number of Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey continues to increase day by day, not decreasing, according to the data updated by DGMM. The fact that an average of 465 Syrian babies were born in Turkey per day, as well as border crossings, had an impact on this increase. Hatay Mayor Lütfü Savaş stated that the birth rate of Syrian refugees is very high and he expressed his concerns, "The population of these people, especially young children and young people, is increasing gradually. Thus, as the years pass, the number of people who have the opportunity to vote will increase as well as the population. If the birth rates of our guests continue like this, our population will gradually decrease and we will remain in the minority position as a result”.

The ever-increasing refugee population as a result of the fact that those who came did not go or more of those who went back came to Turkey through irregular migration caused many concerns among the people and started to be seen as a threat. The same is true for asylum seekers. They are seen as the cause of unemployment and cost of living in the country. In addition, their acceptance as a criminal element causes tension between the two communities. This tension, which is increasing day by day, has turned into social violence. For example, on August 10, 2021, a social lynching attempt took place in Ankara, which was confirmed by official sources.

Tensions Between Refugees and Turkish Citizens:

When the violence between the refugees and the people started to increase, the Ministry of Interior started a dilution practice for refugees in order to prevent Syrians from becoming ghettos in a neighborhood or district. With this application, it is aimed to prevent the foreign population from exceeding 25 percent of the neighborhood population. The study applied in places exceeding 25 percent is: 1- First of all, these settlements are closed to registration for foreigners. 2- Foreigners in settlements where there is a density of foreigners are placed in different districts and provinces on a voluntary basis. For example, as of September 2, 2021, the provincial borders of Ankara have been closed to temporary protection registration. The government seems to have produced a policy that will reduce the concerns of the society!

According to the results of the 2019 survey published by UNHCR, Turkish citizens who participated in the survey asked, “How are the Syrians culturally similar to us?” 80.2% of the respondents said "they don't look alike" at all. To the question "Where should the Syrians in Turkey live?", 44.8% answered "They should be sent to safe areas to be established in Syria and live there" and 25% answered "They should be sent back anyway". Approximately 75% answered "I do not agree". Moreover, according to the survey, Turkish citizens stated that they do not want Syrians to acquire citizenship in any way.

Turkish People Mostly Do Not Want Syrian Refugees:

According to the results of the Metropoll Research Center's research on refugees in 2021, more than 80 percent of the Turkish society wants Syrian refugees to be sent to their countries, regardless of party, political view or ethnicity.

The reasons such as the increase in unemployment, the fact that irregular immigrants coming to Turkey are seen as cheap labor and employing foreigners without insurance instead of the young people who are fired cause the reaction of the Turkish youth who are looking for a job and they think that the immigrants should be sent to their countries.

Turkish People Do Not Want a Life Intertwined with Asylum Seekers:

In general, and as the results of the research show, Turkish people do not want a communal life with refugees. The Turkish people do not want their children to receive education in the same environment as the refugees, they do not want to live in the same apartment or even on the same street or work in the same workplace. If the refugees came as “guests”, they are expected to return to their countries. The increase in the population under protection every day and the prolongation of the process that was initially called “guesting” created a shock effect on the society. It has caused various problems due to the miscommunication between the local population and the newly arrived population, and if they do not return to their countries, it will continue to be experienced.

Conclusion:

Today, none of the programs carried out as "voluntary return programs" in Europe comply with the principle of volunteering. Europe talks about human rights, but often gives the person no choice but to return. But in the end, this shows that Europe has an existing immigration policy and it is justified in its applications. It can send its guests who do not want to go with an immigration policy that Turkey is also justified in its own way. The Turkish people have started to become impoverished, there is no economic power and social tolerance to host guests.