Syrian refugees in Turkey, a peaceful cohabitation
Audio 02:35
Syrians take part in a protest to mark the tenth anniversary of the Syrian conflict, in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 13, 2021. (Photo illustration) REUTERS - MURAD SEZER
By: Anne Andlauer
7 mins
Ten years after the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, more than 5 million Syrians still live far from their country that they had to flee to find refuge in a neighboring country or beyond.
Turkey stands out among all the others: it alone hosts more than 3.6 million Syrians, by far the world record.
The refugees, often settled in Turkey for many years, have rebuilt a life there.
They work, they have children who go to school and integrate, year in and year out, into Turkish society.
While authorities continue to claim that the Syrians will return, most have no intention of doing so at all.
Report from Istanbul where more than 500,000 Syrians live.
Publicity
A little over nine years ago, in December 2011, Muhammed entered Turkey from the province of Aleppo, Syria.
He was 23 years old, he was single, he was fleeing the fighting and thought to return soon to his village of Hawar Kilis.
Today, he receives in an apartment in Istanbul located on the ground floor of a dilapidated building, surrounded by his three children and his wife, Noura, pregnant with the fourth.
The couple married in 2013. They have never returned to Syria.
Muhammed and Noura describe themselves as "
well integrated
".
Of Turkmen origin, they speak Turkish, which immediately made their life easier.
Muhammed works in textiles.
He is generally satisfied with his situation and even grateful.
“
For health, for example, we really have no complaints,” he
says.
When I need a drug for 100 pounds, I only pay 5 or 10. It is appreciable, it shows that Turkey is involved, that it cares about us.
And that makes me happy
.
"
The couple have friends, Turkish neighbors with whom they talk about everything and nothing, exchange vows on religious holidays ... He knows that this is not the case for many Syrians.
Murat Erdogan, director of the Center for Migration and Integration Research at the Turkish-German University of Istanbul, confirms.
This specialist warns against the risk of communitarianism among refugees, who would come to constitute a "
parallel society
".
“
If you go to regions where Syrians are very numerous, you will find that they live in a kind
of 'self-esteem', explains Murat Erdogan.
On the one hand, this is completely normal.
They have created solidarity networks in Turkey, mutual aid chains between migrants, which help them to feel more secure.
But this feeling of security is also what distances them, even isolates them from the host society.
And it is a handicap for the construction of a common society.
"
On the other hand, the massive presence of Syrians is extremely unpopular in public opinion.
It is all the more so as the Turks realized that a large part of the refugees did not intend to return to Syria and would not return - even if the official speech continues to affirm the contrary. .
The Turks are hostile to them, but they are also resigned, notes Murat Erdogan.
“
Turkish society doesn't accept Syrians, but it doesn't really show them.
She's unhappy, but she doesn't make them feel too much.
Initially, there were a lot of concerns related to the Syrians… But when they look at the last ten years, the Turks don't really see how the Syrians could have harmed their society.
In any case, they have not had personal experience of it
, ”underlines the expert.
Indeed, it cannot be emphasized enough that for so many years, the cohabitation between 83 million Turks and 3.5 million Syrians has taken place in a largely peaceful manner.
And this while Turkey has not only opened its doors to them, but also its public services.
►
Report to be found in full on the program
Accents d'Europe
on Monday, March 15, 2021.
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