Türkiye turns on its refugees

Economic crisis fuels violence against Syrians and other immigrants, upending Türkiye’s once-welcoming stance and leaving millions in limbo.

Tensions were simmering in Türkiye due to its worsening economic crisis, which fuelled resentment against immigrants. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement

The once bustling Melikgazi district in Türkiye’s Central Anatolian province of Kayseri, 346 km southeast of the capital Ankara, now bears the scars of charred homes, burnt stores, and overturned cars.

These tell-tale signs reveal a community in turmoil, caught in a wave of violent retribution against Syrian refugees that echoed across Turkish borders. In retaliation, anti-Türkiye protests erupted in Turkish-controlled northwest Syria, resulting in the deaths of four people.

The turmoil in Kayseri, a city known for its historic trade routes and the grandeur of Mount Erciyes, began in early July following allegations that a Syrian national had sexually assaulted a minor. The incident ignited the tension already simmering in Türkiye due to its worsening economic crisis, which has fuelled resentment against immigrants.

The violence in Kayseri is not an isolated incident. Similar attacks occurred in Ankara in 2021 when anti-immigrant protesters targeted properties owned by Syrians after the alleged murder of a local teenager. Similar attacks took place in the megapolis of Istanbul as well.

Not only Syrians, but immigrants from South Asia, Africa, and other regions are also facing increasing hostility in Türkiye, which until recently welcomed immigrants with various schemes to boost its manufacturing capacity and bring in wealth.

An Afghan student from Nangarhar province, studying at a Turkish university for the past five years, tells Frontline, on the condition of anonymity, that he and his friends take care not to speak in Pashtu or Persian in a bus or crowded place lest it invites the wrath of the locals. He mentioned an incident when an old Turkish lady, after listening to him speaking in Pashtu with his friend, created a ruckus on the bus. Others joined her, asking how long they should shoulder the burden of foreigners.

A Somali student, Abdullahi, who is also at an African restaurant in Ankara, goes through such experiences almost every day. “Afghans and others may be identified only when they speak, but my skin colour tells loudly that I am an outsider,” he says, as he serves the African delicacy, Mandi Platter, to a customer. He says that besides public scrutiny, there are now frequent checks by authorities to trace illegal immigrants, who are then taken to detention camps and later deported.

“This area, close to the city centre, had until a few years ago many African restaurants operated mostly by Somali or Ethiopian entrepreneurs. But this is the only one left now,” he says. “The others were forced to down shutters.”

In Gaziantep province in Eastern Türkiye, which faced an earthquake last year, Lobna Helli, a Syrian woman, owns a beautiful restaurant called Lazord, which is a popular meeting place in the city. She too has felt the pinch of anti-immigrant sentiments.

“My two daughters went to a Turkish school and speak the language fluently, better than Arabic,” she tells Frontline, pointing out that her family had integrated into Turkish society after being forced to leave Syria in 2015 when her husband was arrested and tortured by the Assad regime.

The attacks in Kayseri started after reports alleged that a Syrian man had sexually abused a seven-year-old Turkish girl. Later, it transpired that both the girl and the relative who attacked her were Syrian. By the time police could clarify, the violence had spread to other cities, with similar attacks in Hatay, Gaziantep, Konya, and elsewhere against Syrians and their properties.

The attacks occurred after reports alleging that a Syrian man had sexually abused a seven-year-old Turkish girl. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the suspect was caught by citizens at the scene and handed over to the police, but Yerlikaya blamed social media for exacerbating the situation, with both accounts spreading manipulative and false news.

“Our Cyber Crimes Unit and our Security Directorate have identified 189 account managers, six of whom were abroad, who made provocative and misinformative posts related to the events in Kayseri,” he says and adds that 12 have been arrested.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the violence “unacceptable” and blamed the “poisonous rhetoric” of the opposition as “one of the reasons” for it. “We get nowhere by stoking xenophobia and anti-refugee hatred among the public,” Erdoğan said.

Opposition CHP lawmaker representing Kayseri, Ashkayen Geng, blamed the crisis on the government’s indecision towards finding solutions for immigrants. “Türkiye must immediately develop a migration policy that cares about social peace,” he says.

Changing attitudes

Kayseri’s Kafkas Mutfak restaurant, which offers spicy Syrian cuisine like pastırma (dried cured meat with a spicy coating) and manti (small meat-filled dumplings), has removed its Arabic billboard. The menu card is now available only in Turkish. Women are even changing the way they wear their hijabs, replacing their usually mono-colour ones with the bold prints worn by Turkish women.

London-based news website The New Arab quoted Ahmad Al-Safadi, who runs a sweet business on the outskirts of Ankara, as saying that he was planning to return to Syria. “We have been resisting racism and discrimination for a very long time but we now have come to the point where my son has thought of suicide because of constant bullying,” said Al-Safadi. He explained that his daughter wanted to drop out of school because she could not handle the hatred anymore, and he called on the government to address the widespread issue systematically.  Al-Safadi’s business was attacked several times in the past year. He has now become discouraged by the notable shift in attitudes amongst Turkish people.

Türkiye was once lauded for the welcome it extended to people fleeing Syria’s civil war. It hosts the largest population of refugees and asylum seekers in the world. According to the latest available figures from the Turkish Presidency of Migration Management (PMM), there are more than 5.1 million foreign nationals in Türkiye, 3.8 million of whom are seeking international protection. Most are Syrians (3,435,298) who have been granted temporary protection status.

In addition, there are international protection holders from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were 3,18,903 refugees and asylum-seekers in Türkiye as of mid-2022.

Türkiye, which shares a border with Iran and Syria as well as Greece and Bulgaria (both EU member states) also serves as a major transit country for refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants attempting to reach the European Union. The EU has sent billions of euros in funding to Türkiye for humanitarian support for refugees and to bolster efforts to control migration.

Türkiye hosts the largest population of refugees and asylum seekers in the world.  | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement

Officials believe that disinformation has queered the pitch for Syrians. One such piece of disinformation circulating on social media is that Türkiye grants citizenship to Syrians purchasing residences in the country, a scheme which applies to all wealthy foreign nationals. The fact is Syrians cannot purchase residences or land in Türkiye under a law dating back to 1927, implemented in the early years of the Republic of Türkiye in retaliation for Syria’s seizure of Turkish lands. Türkiye has offered citizenship to a limited number of eligible Syrian refugees, but their number is a mere 2,00,000.

Ankara-Damascus normalisation

Government sources suspect foul play in the violence, as it came soon after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hinted at normalisation with the Syrian regime led by President Bashar al-Assad.

Echoing these fears, senior journalist and analyst Abdul Hamit said these attacks appear orchestrated by Western powers who want to obstruct normalisation efforts between Türkiye and Syria.

According to Hamit, “Both countries are moving to launch anti-terrorist operations in Northern Syria and are opposed to holding so-called elections in Northern Syria by US-backed PKK/YPG (Kurdish groups) networks against Türkiye’s will.” Unfortunately, Hamit said, Türkiye’s leftist and ultra-nationalist opposition provides fodder to the Western powers by ignoring the larger conspiracy.

Parties like the far-right Victory Party (ZP) have been at the forefront of anti-Syrian sentiment in the country. The main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) also campaigned heavily around repatriating Syrian refugees ahead of the May 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Responding to the attacks and Erdogan’s bid for rapprochement with the Assad regime, anti-Türkiye protests also broke out in Turkish-controlled northwest Syria. Locals directed their anger at the Turkish flag, Turkish trucks, and other Turkish elements. Four people died in clashes with Turkish forces. Observers say the Kayseri events were likely only a trigger to the larger issues around developments such as Ankara-Damascus normalisation.

For the first time, Assad openly asserted “Syria’s openness to all initiatives related to the relationship between Syria and Türkiye, based on the sovereignty of the Syrian state over all its territories on the one hand and combating all forms of terrorism and its organisations on the other hand.”

Early 2023 saw a similar rapprochement effort, with the Turkish and Syrian Foreign Ministers as well as defence chiefs coming together. That process was choked when Assad insisted that Türkiye withdraw all troops from Syria as a precondition.

Both countries opened a transit point, the Abu Zindan gate south of al-Bab, on June 28 through the mediation of Russia. It is the first time a trade route between Türkiye and Damascus has been established and marks the first concrete initiative of normalisation.

In response to the attacks, widespread anti-Türkiye protests broke out in Turkish-controlled northwest Syria. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement

Analysts say there are three main reasons for a higher possibility of normalisation between Ankara and Damascus. The first is that Assad, in the past year, made significant diplomatic gains, especially in the Arab world and the region. Many countries that cut their ties after the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011 have since restored diplomatic ties with Damascus, reopened diplomatic missions, and invited the leader to summits such as the Arab League. Where the whole region is on track to readmitting Assad into platforms and meetings, it is difficult for Türkiye to be left out.

The second motive is the upcoming US election in November. Countries in the region have been recalibrating and reassessing their policies in anticipation of a change of leadership and Donald Trump’s victory. Also, Russia—being involved in the war in Ukraine—looks at Türkiye favourably and has been pushing both Iran and Syria to grant security assurances to Ankara.

The third reason is Türkiye’s economy, which has nose-dived over the past two years.

According to analyst Mehmet Celik, the burden of the Syrian conflict has not been shared effectively by Western countries, and Türkiye acts as a buffer zone. He said that stability and peace, as well as the safe return of Syrian refugees, can be established through a political solution that also seeks to eliminate terrorism from within Syria’s borders that poses a threat to Türkiye.

Escalating dangers

As if the attacks on Syrians in Türkiye were not enough, the leaking of personal data, including full names and addresses, of up to 3 million Syrian refugees online has added to their problems. Yamama Obaid, a Syrian NGO worker in Gaziantep, was alarmed to see her data online. “I feel so unsafe knowing that a 14-year-old boy can reach my personal information,” she told Al-Monitor, an independent source of Middle East news.

According to a study conducted by the Istanbul Political Research Institute, the high number of Syrians seeking asylum in Türkiye has created fears among the local population. The study warned in 2020 that linguistic barriers and cultural differences could trigger negative tendencies toward Syrians and called for the removal of any impression of exclusionary policies for Syrians and an awareness campaign to address negative emotions.

So far, however, it looks as if such measures, given the size of the economic downturn, are not working. A country that was once a haven for immigrants is fast turning into a nightmare for them.

Iftikhar Gilani is an Indian journalist based in Ankara.