Editorial Syrian Crisis and Migration: Article History: Received 16 Aug. 2015
Editorial Syrian Crisis and Migration: Article History: Received 16 Aug. 2015
Editorial Syrian Crisis and Migration: Article History: Received 16 Aug. 2015
2015
EDITORIAL PINAR YAZGAN
DENIZ EROGLU UTKU
Syrian Crisis and Migration IBRAHIM SIRKECI
Abstract
With the growing insurrections in Syria in 2011, an exodus in large numbers
has emerged. The turmoil and violence have caused mass migration to
destinations both within the region and beyond. The current "refugee crisis"
has escalated sharply and its impact is widening from neighbouring countries
toward Europe. Today, the Syrian crisis is the major cause for an increase in
displacement and the resultant dire humanitarian situation in the region. Since
the conflict shows no signs of abating in the near future, there is a constant
increase in the number of Syrians fleeing their homes. However, questions on
the future impact of the Syrian crisis on the scope and scale of this human
mobility are still to be answered. As the impact of the Syrian crisis on host
countries increases, so does the demand for the analyses of the needs for
development and protection in these countries. In this special issue, we aim to
bring together a number of studies examining and discussing human mobility
in relation to the Syrian crisis.
Introduction
In this issue, we aimed to shed some light on the Syrian refugee crisis which
seems to shake European common policy on migration and asylum. However,
it seems focus is still on raising walls, strengthening borders, and futile
categorisations of movers as ‘refugees’ and ‘economic migrants’. As well put
in a recent interview, “managing international migration is not a matter of
controlling borders; it is a question of transnational peace” (Bardakci, 2015).
People will continue fleeing the environments where they feel insecure and
Europe will continue to face large influxes from neighbouring countries in
trouble.
Pinar Yazgan is Assistant Professor at Department of Sociology, Sakarya University, Turkey.
E-mail: pyazgan@gmail.com.
Deniz Eroglu Utku is Assistant Professor at Department of Public Administration, Trakya
University, Edirne, Turkey. E-mail: dnz-eroglu@hotmail.com.
Ibrahim Sirkeci is Ria Financial Professor and Director of Regent’s Centre for Transnational
Studies, Regent’s University London, United Kingdom. E-mail: sirkecii@regents.ac.uk.
Migration Letters, Volume: 12, No: 3, pp. 181 – 192 September 2015
ISSN: 1741-8984 & e-ISSN: 1741-8992 www.migrationletters.com
SYRIAN CRISIS AND MIGRATION
© migration letters
YAZGAN, UTKU & SIRKECI
welcome by a tiny and poor country may not be enough when there are no
means to survive. Therefore, these people must be recognized as migrants
who perceive greater risks and dangers at home. The response should cover
improving economic, political, and cultural wellbeing. Mending just one
aspect will not settle the issue.
Nevertheless, the root causes in Syria are unlikely to disappear soon. Long
before the current violence, this was a country of multifaceted problems:
unemployment, income inequality, suppression of minorities, suppression of
opposition is just a few issues to name. If one wants economic drivers for
migration, the average GDP per capita in Syria has been about a third of –or
less- that is in Turkey, and about a tenth of the averages in most European
countries. This means even without the current violence, there were adequate
reasons for many Syrians to leave. The violence is perhaps providing an
opportunity framework to facilitate the process. We should not also forget
that the conflict migration is not a Syrian problem, it is a wide spread issue
and the responses to this must be transnational and comprehensive in nature.
We mean, offering more blankets and tents here and there will only sooth the
upset of the giver but will not alleviate the much deeper issues countries like
Syria are facing. Therefore, any effort to manage migration has to focus on
securing livelihoods for people in their home countries. Syrian migration will
continue for the foreseeable future just like Iraqi emigration and Afghan
emigration continues; after a while it may slow down but Europe must accept
to live with sizeable Syrian immigrant communities from now on. If there is 183
no settlement about the crisis in Syria these outflows will remain to be strong
for a long while.
The first question is critical and more investigation is needed to answer
fully. For instance, why so many Syrians are desperate to leave Turkey now?
Syrian refugees have been coming to Turkey in large numbers since the early
2011. By mid-2014, estimations had already shown the number of Syrians in
the country were well over 1.6 million officially and over 2 million unofficially.
What did change? The official numbers reached 2 million since then and
anecdotal evidence is there that some local conflicts between Syrians and
natives arose. Germany’s announcement to admit half a million Syrians per
year is clearly an incentive, but there were already a large number of Syrians
leaving Turkey long before. One question comes to mind is the potential
impact of the agreement signed between Turkey and the EU on 16 December
2013 on “the readmission of persons residing without authorization”1 which
is ratified by Turkey on 25th June 2014. When signed, it was expected that the
agreement is fully implemented in three years. That means in 2016, this
agreement may come into force fully. What would be the implication for so
many Syrians as well as others who reaches Europe through Turkey? Article 4,
paragraph 1(c) of the agreement states: [Turkey shall readmit … such persons
who] “illegally and directly entered the territory of the Member States after
1 For the full text of the agreement see: http://gocdergisi.com/kaynak/.
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SYRIAN CRISIS AND MIGRATION
having stayed on, or transited through, the territory of Turkey”. We are not
sure, of course, if this is a widely known fact among Syrian movers who reside
in Turkey. However, migration literature offers enough accounts on myths of
migration referring to the ways in which people make decisions to move
based on hearsay – often good stories relayed by past movers. Thus, we
believe if a hint of the facts about this agreement reached to Syrian
communities, a reaction would be in order. Yet, the question remains: Do
Syrians fear of being sent back if they delay their onward moves any further as
we approach to 2016, the year of implementation? Could this be one of the
reasons behind the 2015 upsurge in desperate efforts risking so many lives to
reach European Union territories? These are the two questions worth
investigating further to understand the recent peak of the European crisis in
dealing with a truly transnational phenomenon.
The crisis
Syrian crisis was not expected and began to produce refugees in April
2011. Now 4 years on, there are estimated to be over 6 million displaced
about two thirds of whom headed abroad, most arrived in neighbouring
countries. Today, the UNHCR reports 2.1 million registered Syrians in Egypt,
Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, more than 24,000 Syrian refugees registered in
North Africa and 1.95 million registered Syrians in Turkey
(http://data.unhcr.org, 06.09.2015). In order to understand the whole picture,
184 we also need to consider Syrian refugees who cannot able to register to the
officials and/or try irregular ways to stay in other countries. This number is
not stable as Syrians continue to stream into different countries.
Since the environment of human insecurity2 in Syria gives no signs to
change in the foreseeable future, it seems that large-scale refugee movements
from this country will continue. Thus, Syrian’s intensifying refugee crisis
together with human tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea diverted public as
well policy makers’ attention to the subject. Particularly, policy makers whose
main focus on possible impacts of refugees on their country became to
discuss humanitarian aspect of the topic and they also emphasised the
importance of a collective responsibility in the field.
Migration is not a popular or pretty topic. It is easy to cry in front of your TV set when
witnessing these tragedies. It is harder to stand up and take responsibility. What we need
now is the collective courage to follow through with concrete action on words that will
otherwise ring empty3’
The world’s attention turned to Syrian crisis and the refugee question
caused by the proxy war in the Syria very recently. However, Syrian migration
is not a new phenomenon. The difference is the volume and transnational
effect of Syrians today is particularly high. Barrout (2008) conveys that the
number of emigrants along with the relatives who left the country before 1922
were around 500,000 while this number increase to 4,180,444 by 2007 (as
cited in Mehchy and Mahadi Doko, 2010:2). The Syrian refugees today already
reached half of these numbers.
Both Middle East countries and countries outside of this region received
considerable number of immigrants from Syria in different time
periods (Mehchy and Mahadi Doko, 2011; Chalcraft, 2009; Gualteri, 2004;
Hourani and Shedadi, 1992). Political environment of Syria has long
motivated Syrians to move other countries as they felt political oppression
and insecurity (Beitin, 2012; Fargues and Fandrich, 2012). This country has
been unstable; it has experienced chain military coups from the very
beginning of its foundation. Syria experienced more than 20 military
interventions over the following years of the first coup d’état happening in
1949 (Beshara, 2013:21).
In addition to political turbulence, economic motivations were also strong
to pave the way for migration flows from Syria. Until the 1960s and 1970s,
emigration from Arab countries was mainly to Europe and the USA (Mehchy
and Mahadi Doko, 2011). In addition to this, Lebanon was a popular
destination country for Syrians. Workers preferred this country because of the
visa convenience for physical closeness of the country (Winckler, 1997:109).
Intra-regional migration trend intensified in the second half of the 1970s as 185
job opportunities in the oil producing countries of the Middle East increased
(Winckler, 1997). Lebanon still received large numbers of Syrian workers as
there were labour shortage resulted by civil war (1975-1989) (MPC Team,
2013), but Gulf countries appeared as new attractive destinations for the
Syrian economic immigrants. As a result of this trend, remittance became an
important part of Syrian economy. According to the Syrian government
source, this country received two billion dollars remittance from expatriate
Syrians in 2007 (Seeberg, 2012:10).
Until 2011, the literature mainly emphasised economic consideration
motivated emigration from Syria. However, 2011 has been a turning point
year for Syria as both volume and nature of migration from this country
changed dramatically. Following popular uprisings against dictatorships in
several Arab countries, many Syrians poured into the streets to protest Bashar
al-Assad government. Street protests evolved into a civil war that would
cause an enormous refugee influx later on.
As the number of Syrians seeking asylum in neighbouring countries as well
as in Europe increases, issues related to this topic have become more diverse
and complicated. Currently, Syrian question is not only a matter of foreign
policy for the states; the future of Syrian refugees is also on top of the agenda.
While the world has been witnessing ‘the worst refugee crisis since World
War II’ (Amnesty International, 2015), somewhat surprisingly there is limited
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SYRIAN CRISIS AND MIGRATION
In the final special issue article, examining the social dimension of refugee
question is continued but this time another refugee hosting country is
scrutinised: Jordan. Ayham Dalal, discusses the socio-economic activities of
refugees and how these activities contribute to urbanization of refugee camps.
By focusing on Zaatari camp in Jordan, this study sheds the light on how
Syrian refugees can access the labour market. Considering the recent
discussions revolving around the impact of refugees on host countries in
economic means, this study asserts how states’ ‘planning/theory’ can be
completely different than ‘practice/reality’.
We hope these articles will be of use in kicking off the scholarly exchange
on Syrian migration and conflict and we are inviting new research on this
genre to Migration Letters. Particularly studies focusing on Anthropological
aspects, daily routines of Syrian migrants, and their past migration
experiences, xenophobia, integration issues are in need for further
investigation. In addition to this, the academics are expected to produce
practical resolution suggestions for the decision makers. Particularly, how to
ensure collaboration and efficient burden sharing and how to mitigate tension
between refugees and host country population are the two critical questions
waiting for scholarly attention. All in all, we hope to see more inspiring,
empirical and guiding studies in the future and this issue will be a drop in the
ocean.
Along with the special issue articles, at the end of this volume, we are 189
pleased to offer the readers, a rare critique of migration theories by Douglas
Massey; Macedonian case study on emigration tendencies by Petreskis; a
comparison of Turkish and Romanian migration experiences in Europe by
Poetzschke; and an introduction to the HuKou system of China by Cui and
Cohen. Finally, Martin and Sirkeci reviews the Turkish Migration Conference
2015 and Sirkeci and Cohen offers the first attempt of a comprehensive
ranking of impact in Migration Studies literature.
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