Turkish official: Syrian refugees are here to stay
Leading refugee expert Metin Corabatir says the Turkish government must come up with clearer legislation and policies to address the problem of Syrian refugees, and work much more closely with the international community and NGOs.
Speculation continues to be rife over what Turkey’s military contribution to the fight against the Islamic State (IS) is. What is not open to debate, however, is the massive humanitarian contribution it is trying to make that outshines efforts by the West, which remains reluctant even when it comes to providing shelter for Syrian refugees.
Citing data provided by the London-based Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), Turkey’s semi-official Anadolu Agency reported this week that of the 5.8 million Syrians that fled to neighboring countries since the beginning of the conflict, 1.9 million have taken refuge in Turkey.
This includes the estimated 190,000 refugees from Kobani, the predominantly Kurdish town in Syria near the Turkish border who fled the IS onslaught and were taken in by Turkey. Citing the same source, Anadolu said 450,000 of the Syrian refugees in Turkey were children and 270,000 were women.
Generous and welcoming as Turkey may appear, Turks are generally not happy with the massive influx of refugees, and the country has already witnessed tension between the Syrians and local Turks.
