By Nur Helvali
The Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and spread rapidly, has created a major refugee crisis in the region affecting mainly Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. While the Syrian refugee crisis in Türkiye is in its 13th year, it has evolved to different dimensions than when it started. It has ceased to be a “temporary crisis” and continues negatively with its permanent effects. As the war lasted longer than expected, Türkiye is still unable to determine the status and future of the refugees, bureaucracy is mostly inefficient, unemployment rates and poor living conditions are worsening day to day, and it can be said that the increase in social tension between the two societies is one of the consequences. The integration of Syrian refugees, some of whom have lived in Türkiye for 13 years, also has not been achieved.
According to the information provided by the Turkish government, Türkiye continues to host more than 3 million Syrian refugees in 2024. According to data from the International Organization for Migration, a number of nearly 5 million represents all refugees in Türkiye. With this high number of refugees, it was inevitable that Türkiye would become the study target of many researchers on refugee-related issues. However, some problems began to emerge in these studies. This blog post presents some of the main obstacles to conducting field research with Syrian refugees in Türkiye.
Psychological traumas
First of all, one of the main difficulties in conducting research on forced migrants is that many of them are highly traumatized. Psychological trauma has occurred in many Syrians who escaped from war and armed conflict, witnessed a murder, or lost a family member. It seems that the emotional state of many of them did not improve after settling in Türkiye, especially due to the camp conditions and the struggle to survive after leaving the camp. Some of the Syrian refugees in Türkiye also had physical harms. It will be difficult to conduct research with them because they did not fully regain their health, and there is a high probability of secondary trauma for researchers.
Distrust in the society
Another important challenge of conducting research with Syrian refugees in Türkiye is the decrease in the sense of trust due to the deepening problems between Turkish and Syrian communities. There are two main reasons for the decrease in trust between them. The first one is the economic crisis. With the increase in the number of refugees, Syrians are perceived as the burden in the society. While people are suffering from economic difficulties due to high inflation rates, they also react to the high spending on refugees from the national budget. The second important reason for the increase in distrust is the issue of socio-cultural differences, which has begun to become more evident as the refugee problem has lasted for a long time and is now understood to be permanent. It has been claimed that Syrians did not adapt to society and that their continued stay in Türkiye would disrupt the order of Turkish society. Syrians are perceived as more prone to crime by the Turks and Turks are perceived to exclude Syrians from the society. This trust problem, which causes concern on both sides, also makes field conditions difficult for researchers.
Fear of being deported
For many Syrians who are still in “temporary protection status” and do not have permanent residence, the anxiety of being sent back to Syria may be preventing them from participating in some research. The increasing number of Syrians sent from Türkiye due to reasons such as their involvement in crime, work outside the places where they have work permits, or expired residence periods has increased concerns.
Language problems
One of the biggest problems in field research is the language barrier between the researcher and the participant. If a common language is not spoken and communication is established through an interpreter, there is potential for more communication challenges. The number of Syrians in Türkiye who speak Turkish and English is still very small, and the number of Turks who speak Arabic is quite low.
The tendency of politicians to use refugees according to internal dynamics
The issue of the refugee population and what will happen to them in the future is one of the most discussed issues among politicians in Türkiye. It is discussed that refugees, who are seen as both a social and economic burden, will be sent back or will continue to stay as guests, depending on the reaction of the public in many elections in Türkiye. For example, before the last general election held in May 2023, it was said that refugees would stay as guests, but just before the election, it was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that hosting had come to an end and that they would be sent back safely. The changing political preferences for hosting or repatriating refugees may cause concerns for researchers.
Presence of unregistered refugees
Finally, in Türkiye there are unregistered refugees alongside registered refugees. The presence of unregistered refugees and the fact that their numbers are estimated to be quite high may pose security problems for researchers.
Conclusion
As a result of the challenges described above, it will be very difficult for many researchers to conduct research in the context of Türkiye. The purpose of research should not only be to collect information; people must be convinced that this information will be used for their benefit as well. In order for the research to be effective in this context, the difficulties that have arisen for the Syrian refugee population and for the Turkish host community should be taken into account without blaming either community.
Author bio:
Nur is a PhD student at Carleton University, Department of Political Science and Junior Research Fellow at the Canadian Institute for Far Right Studies.