APL (Ajiken Power Lunch)

APL (Ajiken Power Lunch) is a lunchtime workshop open to public, including IDE staffs, visiting research fellows, IDEAS students, outside researchers and graduate students. This workshop provides a platform for presentation of any work in progress where we can discuss in either English or Japanese.

Those who would attend a seminar are asked to announce yourself to receptionists on your arrival at the IDE and to obtain APL Organizers' signature on your admission card after the seminar.

October 28, 2016. (Friday) 11：30-13：00

Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization C23 Meeting Room 　

The Social inclusion of Syrian refugees in Turkey

Currently, 2.7 million Syrians live in Turkey under the "Temporary Protection". 91% of them live non-camp situations while only 9% lives in camps. In addition, Turkey hosts, under its “international protection regime”, 125,000 Iraqis, 113.000 Afghans, 28,500 Iranians, 4,000 Somalians, and 8,000 persons belonging a variety of countries. This is the major refugee crisis Turkey has faced so far in its history. On the other hand, Turkey’s asylum system is of temporary character because it maintains geographical limitation to 1951 Convention on the status of refugees. The Turkish asylum system has been based for decades on the assumption that the refugees who are not citizens of a European country cannot stay in Turkey but would be resettled to other countries. This means that Turkey has not developed any integration policies and legal provisions. However, today, resettlement is only possible for only some thousands of refugees who are considered to be most vulnerable persons. The main challenges Turkey currently faces are finding ways of meeting basic needs of this 3 million people; and how to realise condition of social inclusion for such a large number of people from a different country and culture. These people have very limited access to labour markets. They face problem of finding proper housing. Malnutrition is very common. They cannot send their children to schools. They live at the margins of Turkish society with maximum degree of isolation. The Turkish Government, the UN agencies, European Union, International and national NGOs and municipalities spend billions of dollars to help these refugees. However, there is no understanding yet that to cope with this crisis Turkey needs an overall strategy of integration and social inclusion. This presentation will argue, in the absence of such a strategy, 3 million refugees will remain in deteriorating conditions and in desperation. Which is also a potential social and political threat to the stability of Turkey. While it is the international responsibility to help more to Turkey, the main responsibility lies in Turkey. One major issue is to recognize legal status for refugees. This requires lifting of geographical limitation. All obstacles, legal and administrative need to be removed to give a chance for refugees to build a dignified life in Turkey. This will also be essential to build their devastated countries, when they return to their homes in the future.

Metin Çorabatır (The Research Center on Asylum and Migration, Turkey)

Kohei IMAI

English