Syrian refugees in Turkey 'denied access to lawyers and specialised medical care'

The fate of the newly returned refugees casts further doubt on the viability of the EU’s flagship refugee deal Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Syrian refugees returned to Turkey as part of a controversial deal with the European Union are being held without access to lawyers or specialised medical care.

A group of 12 Syrians are being held in Düziçi, a remote detention centre in southern Turkey, while others have not been heard of since their flight arrived from Greece in April.  

“You can’t imagine how bad a situation we are in right now,” a woman detained with her children told the Guardian newspaper by phone. “My children and I are suffering, the food is not edible.
"I’m forcing my children to eat because I don’t have any money to buy anything, but they refuse because there are bugs in it.”

Among the group is at least one pregnant woman. The whereabouts of two more Syrians returned from Greece last month remains unknown.

Turkey: Illegal mass returns of Syrian refugees expose fatal flaws in EU-Turkey deal

Large-scale forced returns of refugees from Turkey to war-ravaged Syria expose the fatal flaws in a refugee deal signed between Turkey and the European Union earlier this month, Amnesty International revealed today.

New research carried out by the organization in Turkey’s southern border provinces suggests that Turkish authorities have been rounding up and expelling groups of around 100 Syrian men, women and children to Syria on a near-daily basis since mid-January. Over three days last week, Amnesty International researchers gathered multiple testimonies of large-scale returns from Hatay province, confirming a practice that is an open secret in the region.

All forced returns to Syria are illegal under Turkish, EU and international law.

“In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia.

“The large-scale returns of Syrian refugees we have documented highlight the fatal flaws in the EU-Turkey deal. It is a deal that can only be implemented with the hardest of hearts and a blithe disregard for international law.”

The Impact of Syria's Refugees on Southern Turkey

Since Policy Focus 130 was first published in October 2013, the number of registered Syrian refugees in Turkey has nearly doubled, from roughly 440,000 to 747,000. Although Turkey's national burden is relatively small when compared with Syria's other neighbors—namely Lebanon and Jordan—pressures are increasingly intense in five southern Turkish provinces where a disproportionate number of the refugees are concentrated. All told, and accounting for unregistered refugees, Turkey can expect to permanently host about a million Syrian refugees. Integrating these arrivals poses challenges at a scale not seen in Turkey's modern history, calling for analysis of cultural, social, and economic implications.

Questions addressed in this newly revised and updated release include whether Ankara will provide permanent residency or even citizenship to refugees. If so, how will such a move affect the Turkish political landscape, especially given refugees' general sympathy with the ruling Justice and Development Party? Also at issue is whether Turkey will maintain its remarkable economic resilience. After an initial dip in exports with Syria following the 2011 uprising, Turkish companies have bounced back, even increasing their trade volume with Syrian counterparts since last fall. Finally, Turkey's southern provinces face sensitive cultural challenges, with the influx of Sunni Arab refugees upsetting the longstanding sectarian balance. Washington will need to monitor these and other trends so that its cooperation with the Turkish government, and the international community, will be focused, attuned, and effective.

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Outlook Darkens for Syria Refugees in Turkey

By Ayla Albayrak

ISTANBUL—Turkey’s welcome to Syrian refugees is coming under strain, as international aid dries up and Turks grow weary of the burden to their country caused by the 1.7 million people who have spilled over the border to escape war next door.

On a recent night here, dozens of Syrian men lined to use the only bathroom in a commercial building that once housed offices and workshops, but now shelters homeless Syrians, who pay $240 a month for a bunk bed in one of its 30 rooms.

With nighttime temperatures dropping to the 30s, the building’s Turkish owner lets residents buy portable heaters, but he limits their use to save electricity. It is a sign to Mohammed Darweesh, a 31-year-old doctor from the Syrian province of Latakia, that Turkey’s embrace was wearing thin.

“One night, local volunteers knocked our door and offered blankets. I told them our problems are too great to be solved with blankets,” Mr. Darweesh said, adding that his money was running low and he was unable to get a job. “Turkey has been good to Syrians, but two million people are just too many.”
Since the start of Syria’s political upheaval in March 2011, Turkish authorities have sought to control the dispersal of Syrian refugees across the country by giving government aid only to people in camps it operates near the Turkish-Syrian frontier.

New funding announced by HRVP Mogherini and Commissioner Stylianides as they meet with refugees in Turkey

European Commission - Press release

EU steps up assistance for Syrian refugees in Turkey

Brussels, 09 December 2014

New funding announced by HRVP Mogherini and Commissioner Stylianides as they meet with refugees in Turkey

With growing numbers of refugees from Syria seeking sanctuary in Turkey, the European Commission is stepping up its assistance with an additional €10 million in humanitarian funding both inside Turkey and inside Syria via cross-border assistance from Turkey. The funding was announced as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini and the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides visited a camp for Syrian refugees in the border town of Kilis, south-central Turkey, and attended a distribution of EU-funded aid for refugees.

HRVP Federica Mogherini stated: "Today, we are stepping up our assistance to the people of Syria and to the Turkish communities hosting Syrian refugees. Europe stands firmly with Turkey and is determined to play its role to the full to bring a lasting political solution to this regional crisis and humanitarian tragedy".

"Let me express my deep appreciation for the immense efforts by Turkey and its people, who have shown their huge capacity for solidarity with the people of Syria in their greatest time of need," said Commissioner Stylianides. "Europe stands firmly with Turkey. We remain fully committed to our ongoing support to the refugee population in the country, which is why we are stepping up our assistance".

UNHCR: Frequently Asked Questions Syrian Refugees in Turkey

UNHCR Frequently Asked Questions
Syrian Refugees in Turkey
October 2013




What is the Temporary Protection regime and to whom does it apply?

The Temporary Protection (TP) regime established by the Government of Turkey (GoT) is in
line with international standards for dealing with sudden and large increases of numbers of
refugees crossing the border. Under the TP regime, Syrians are to be provided with protection and
assistance in Turkey, which includes unlimited stay, protection against against forcible returns
and access to reception arrangements where immediate needs are addressed. To date, assistance has
been systematically provided in the camps. For the non-camp refugees, the assistance is being
provided on an adhoc basis with the notable exception of access to public medical health care which
has been open to all Syrian nationals in Turkey.

All Syrian refugees are covered by the TP regime, including those without identification documents.
The TP regime also covers Palestinians from Syria and stateless persons from Syria.

Turkey: Border abuses and destitution aggravating plight of Syria refugees

The international community’s failure to deal with the growing number of Syrian refugees fleeing into Turkey has led to a crisis of unprecedented proportions with refugees facing push-backs and live fire at the border and hundreds of thousands living in destitution, said Amnesty International in a new report published today.

A Kurdish refugee mother and son from the town of Kobani in Syria walk beside their tent in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc in Turkey. © 2014 Getty Images

Struggling to Survive: Refugees from Syria in Turkey documents serious human rights risks faced by the 1.6 million people who have sought refuge in the country over the last three and a half years. It also highlights the deplorable reluctance of the international community to take meaningful financial responsibility for the refugee crisis.

“Turkey is clearly struggling to meet even the most basic needs of hundreds of thousands Syrian refugees. The result is that many of those who have made it across the border have been abandoned to a life of destitution. The humanitarian assistance offered by the international community has been pitifully low, but Turkey also needs to do more to request and facilitate it,” said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Turkey.

“While Turkey has officially opened its border crossings to Syrian refugees, the reality for many of those trying to escape the ravages of war is a different story. Many are pushed back into the war zone with some even facing live fire.”

More funds needed for million Syrian refugees in Turkey: UNHCR

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - More than a million Syrian refugees in Turkey may go without food, medicine and shelter unless there is an increase in international funding, the U.N. refugee agency said on Wednesday.

Turkey was already struggling to cope with the refugees before the attack on the border town of Kobani began, and the inflow has now far exceeded the international support Turkey has received, a UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) spokeswoman said.

More than 180,000 residents of Kobani, a Syrian Kurdish town, have fled to Turkey as fighters of the militant Sunni group Islamic State closed in over the past three weeks.

Carol Batchelor, the UNHCR representative in Turkey, said there was a global responsibility to look after the refugees.

"The basic needs of the Syrian refugees vastly outweigh the support and funding from the international community," Batchelor told Thomson Reuters Foundation.