On Monday residents at the Kumkapı Foreigners’ Guesthouse in İstanbul set fire to blankets, sheets and clothing and threw them out windows, chanting, “There is no food, water or medicine here.” Some Turks reacted unsympathetically to the protest, responding with such harsh words as “You’re not even wanted in your own countries. You live off our money and then respond with such ungratefulness,” and “Our government is taking care of you, and you’re burning your blankets. Get out of our country. We don’t want you here.”
The migrants, of course, have no choice in the matter at this point, but the reaction to their plight is indicative of general sentiment regarding migrants -- including refugees and asylum seekers -- in Turkey.
"Unfortunately, most of the time refugees are the victims of poor policy," Refugee Solidarity Association (Mülteci-Der) administrative coordinator Orçun Ulusoy said in an interview with Sunday's Zaman last week. "Asylum seekers are often approached with prejudices, and these irresponsible attitudes result in the possibility of them facing serious harm."
Among the prejudices Ulusoy referenced is the idea that most migrants to Turkey are criminals, possibly dangerous, that they work illegally -- narrowing job opportunities for natives -- or have been caught and now live off lavish government handouts. "Of course most refugees enter Turkey through so-called illegal means -- it's not very realistic to expect people fleeing oppression and persecution to prepare their escape by first requesting a passport and visa for the purposes of seeking asylum," Ulusoy said.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Turkey spokesperson Metin Çorabatır explained to Sunday's Zaman last week that "[those classified as] refugees and asylum seekers are forced to leave their country out of fear of persecution because of religious or political beliefs, membership in a particular social group or ethnicity or out of the fear of danger to their lives because of war or widespread violence in their country." International law protects refugees, he also said, as well as all people's right to request asylum. Another group of migrants can be roughly classed as irregular migrants or irregular economic migrants and includes those who enter a country illegally. They may be seeking employment or asylum (but have not applied for it yet).
Turkey's position presents unique challenges, as it shares land borders with refugee and migrant-producing areas and countries such as Iran. For some, Çorabatır explained, Turkey is the final destination, and for others it is just a stop on an escape route headed farther West. Regardless, there are several ways in which migrants and refugees reach Turkey, he continued, with individuals from as near as Iraq and as far as Africa being smuggled in through entry points along Turkey's borders with the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, sneaking over Turkey's eastern land borders or simply flying in legally and overstaying their visa.
Ulusoy of Mülteci-Der noted: "Individuals fleeing rights violations stemming from conflicts and adverse conditions in Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq have been coming to Turkey in increasing numbers. The number of Afghans and Somalis seeking asylum globally tripled in 2007, whereas the number of Iraqi asylum seekers worldwide increased 30 times."
The ins and outs of Turkey’s asylum system
There are roughly 15,000 migrants in Turkey who have applied for asylum status with the UNHCR's Turkey office this year, which under international law is enough to provide them protection -- under the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention, to which Turkey is a party -- until their applications are evaluated, Çorabatır said. However this group faces unique struggles, as the period between their initial application and first interview with UNHCR in Ankara can stretch out to 10 months or more, a period during which they are not allowed to work.
Even once an asylum seeker's application is determined to prove their refugee status, the journey is not over. Çorabatır explains: "[Turkey] differentiates between refugees from Europe and those from elsewhere. If you're from a European country, you can enjoy all the rights that the country is obliged by the [Geneva] Convention to provide to refugees. If you're from a non-European country, you can receive only protection, which means [during the asylum application stage that] you will not be sent back to your country of origin until they decide whether you're a genuine refugee or not. If you are a non-European coming to Turkey to seek asylum, you may enjoy temporary protection. … You can't enjoy the full rights. The UNHCR helps [such non-European refugees in Turkey] find a third country for resettlement. ... This takes a long time though, and as the number of refugees increases in Turkey, the waiting period increases."
The increase in the number of asylum seekers in Turkey -- nearly tripling in recent years -- has also put a strain on even the best efforts of local and national government and civil society and aid organizations, including UNHCR. While their applications are evaluated, asylum seekers must stay in a city designated to them by the Interior Ministry, usually in Central Anatolia. Coverage of medical care for asylum seekers and refugees has decreased significantly in recent years, and their overall living conditions are worsening as their numbers continue to grow.
"Only when we are successful in conveying to Turkish society the reasons why these refugees are in Turkey will support for NGOs and associations to aid refugees increase," Ulusoy of Mülteci-Der said. UNHCR's Çorabatır ended his interview on a positive note, saying more attention is being drawn to the largely ignored issue of refugees and migrants arriving in Turkey: "In addition to the negatives, we should recognize growing interest among Turkish civil society, local governments and police trying to solve [refugees' problems] with their individual efforts to improve [the refugees'] living conditions." And solidarity with this disadvantaged group, he says, is growing.
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