UNDERSTANDING REFUGEES
As civil wars cause people to leave their homelands behind, refugees and asylum seekers try to seek refuge in Turkey to survive and establish temporary homes. More than one thousand Syrian asylum seekers fled the war-torn country and asked Turkey for asylum since April 2011. They are trying to adjust to their new lives in refugee camps. The experts state that the refugees are doing nothing more than trying to save their lives, and the notion that they are guilty in the eyes of the society should be prevented. The increasing numbers of refugees, who are trying to establish separate living spaces, not necessarily limited to camps, take an important place on Turkey’s agenda.
Atty. Esra Katıman, Lecturer at Izmir University of Economics, Faculty of Law and Advisor to the Rector, pointed out that the civil war in Syria had an international aspect to it and that had reflections on Turkey. Atty. Esra Katıman said, “The refugee concept appears as a huge problem to states. Due to its new law, Turkey has to open its doors to refugees. The law no. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, which has been published in Official Gazette on 13 April 2013, eliminated a legal loophole. This loophole, before the new law, was being filled with international jurisdictional decisions to a certain degree.”
“The refugees issue should not become an internal affairs issue!”
The articles of the law alone were not enough to solve the problems, the real result came in the application of these articles, and the society needed to get familiar with concepts as refugees and asylum seekers, said Katıman. “The social psychology gains importance here. We, as a Turkish society, are not familiar with terms such as refugees and asylum seekers. We perceive all foreigners as ‘tourists’. Refugees, asylum seekers are people running away from ill treatment. They are supposed to be provided with living conditions that meet human dignity. There should be studies to familiarize the society about this; civil society organizations need to step in at this point. Studies need to be done to enable those, who live close to the refugee camp areas, to have a more positive look about the situation of the refugees,” Katıman said.
Katıman stated that there was a civil war in Syria and deporting the Syrian refugees would mean acting against the international law. The refugees, asylum seekers should not become an internal affairs issue said Katıman, and stated the following:
“The people are being forced to flee their homes. They leave behind their land, their country. Closing the doors on them cannot be even a matter of discussion. Other countries also need to be sensitive about the issue. The refugees, asylum seekers are not criminals; they are not to be blamed for. Armed forces had the same illusion. They are violating the international law; carrying passports. But, these people are fleeing their country because they are faced with danger. They will not become citizens of Turkish Republic. Their sanitary living conditions need to be met until they are placed into a 3rd country.“
