“It is dangerous to be a Syrian in Türkiye at the moment”

In the second round of presidential elections today, citizens of Türkiye are choosing between the now president Erdogan and an opposition’s candidate Kılıçdaroğlu. In the last few weeks the elections have also been a common topic in conversations with refugees that our team had had in the field, especially among those coming from Syria. There is no precise data as to how many Syrians are living in Türkiye at the moment, given that the vast majority of them remain invisible both to the authorities and to the international organisations mandated for the protection of refugees and the displaced people. According to the UNHCR's data, since the beginning of the was in Syira, there has been 3.6 million of Syrian refugees registered in Türkiye, while the number of those who remain unregistered can only be assumed.

Since the beginning of 2022, our team has noticed an increase in number of Syrian refugees in Serbia, one of the last non-EU countries on the so-called Balkan route. Most of them had spent several years in Türkiye, some even up to a decade, but due to the change in policies of Türkiye regarding Syrian refugees decided to look for protection in Western Europe. The Erdogan’s government is said to have arrested, detained and then deported thousands of refugees to Northern Syria, claiming that the territory was controlled by the opposition forces. Kılıçdaroğlu, the presidential candidate who competes with Erdogan, is proponent of an even more extreme antimigrant policy stating that if he was to be elected he would have all Syrian refugees in Türkiye deported back to Syria in a matter of two years.

Last week our team spoke to a group of Syrians about the topic and one of them stated that he did not receive a refugee ID in Türkiye even though he had been in the country with his wife and children for several years. His youngest child was even born in the country. “I have been to the office to register us several times. They refer me from one office to the other, I also went to the police and to the UNHCR, everywhere! They just note down my personal data and send me away. I go in circles and come back empty handed. Now Erdogan has started deporting Syrians back to Syria. I could not take any chances, because if I was to be returned to Syria I would be killed instantly – a bullet to my head is what awaits me. I had to start my journey to Germany, but I could not afford it for the whole family. I am very worried for my wife and children, they are still in Türkiye.“, said the oldest man from the group. “At the moment it is dangerous to be a Syrian in Türkiye. Erdogan wants to gain political points for his presidential campaign through demonstrating force towards refugees. A lot of Syrians are lying low at the moment, not daring to head west because there is a lot of police in the area and they risk being deported if caught. But as soon as the elections are over, many will head towards Europe. My brothers are in this same situation. They plan to go to Germany as soon as the elections are over.”, said another man from the group.