Talk has returned to the fore about the fate of millions of refugees and displaced Syrians in Turkey and on the borders, especially in light of the reported rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus.
What fate awaits these refugees and displaced persons after this rapprochement?
The fate of millions of Syrian refugees in Turkey, and millions of displaced people in northern Syria, was put at stake, after a series of meetings that took place and others expected between Turkish officials and officials of the Syrian regime.
As a result of this rapprochement, angry demonstrations have swept across opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria during the past few days, reminiscent of those that took place during the outbreak of the Syrian revolution. However, this time the demonstrations were against any reconciliation between Turkey and the Syrian regime, and against talking about the return of Syrian refugees.
This came after the recent meeting of the defense ministers of Russia, Syria and Turkey in Moscow, and after successive statements by Turkish officials indicating prospects for rapprochement with the Syrian regime, most notably what President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a new process began through this meeting, and that planning is taking place later to hold a meeting of foreign ministers. , without ruling out a meeting at the level of heads of state.
What do the Syrians fear?
Regarding the fears of the Syrians, the Syrian writer and political researcher Mudar Al-Dibs said - in his interview with the "Scenarios" program (12/1/2023) - that the growing talk about the possibility of reconciliation between Ankara and Damascus makes the Syrian refugees fear losing their lives and the future of their children, and they also feel great disappointment from the situation. This rapprochement makes Turkey an investor in the emotional depth of the Syrian people, as the guest said.
He pointed out that most of the refugees agree that they have nothing to lose, and it is impossible for them to return to the land of Syria under the regime of Bashar al-Assad, indicating that the political understanding of the Syrian person has become at a high level, and some illogical discourses will not deceive him.
On the Turkish level, a member of the Security Council and Foreign Policies in the Turkish presidency, Muhammad Akif Karachi, explained that Turkey is trying to open the file of the return of the displaced Syrians to their homeland in the event that a safe atmosphere is available for them in their homes from which they have been away for many years, indicating that Turkey is investing in the security of its borders as well as the security of and the safety of those who live on its lands.
obsession with forced return
Karaji referred to the demand of a new party in Turkey to impose the forced return of Syrians to their country, and in efforts to prevent this deportation, Turkey is trying to pave the way for them so as not to make their security conditional on their stay in Ankara, especially since the Turkish economic situation has become difficult in light of Russia's war on Ukraine.
For his part, political analyst Yevgeny Sidorov indicated that Russia has a clear vision on the issue of dealing with refugees, but the ball is in the court of the Syrian regime, noting that Moscow previously tried to hold a conference on refugee issues, but it is difficult for Russia to find a common denominator between Ankara's positions. And Damascus, although it will make its full efforts.
It is noteworthy that millions of Syrian refugees in Turkey live and spread in many provinces and dozens of cities, and a large part of them are concentrated in the border cities, where the distant homeland is near and the displaced brothers in the adjacent areas.
Syrians in Turkey
The number of displaced Syrians in northwestern Syria is estimated at about one million and 800 thousand people, according to international organizations. These people live in camps scattered in the areas under the control of the Syrian opposition in northwestern Syria, on the Syrian-Turkish border.
As for the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey, it is currently estimated at about 3,500,000 people, and these refugees live in dozens of Turkish cities, as the Turkish government has dismantled the camps for years and moved the refugees into Turkish cities.
In Istanbul alone, about 550,000 refugees live, while most of the refugees live in the border cities with Syria.
In Gaziantep, Hatay, and Sanliurfa, there are about 1.2 million refugees, and about a quarter of a million refugees live in each of Adana and Mersin.
In the city of Bursa, there are about 200,000, and about 150,000 refugees live in Izmir, while hundreds of thousands of refugees are distributed in many other cities, including Konya, Kilis, Ankara, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Kayseri, Diyarbakir and others.
Among the Syrian refugees, about 200,000 obtained Turkish citizenship, while about 500,000 Syrian refugees returned from Turkey to the opposition-held areas in northern Syria.