The situation of refugees in Turkey during COVID-19

COVID-19 has proven to be a real challenge for civilization and every community has been affected by it one way or another. Those who are most vulnerable and in more difficult positions are experiencing extreme hardships. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are the groups that have been most deeply affected by COVID-19, especially in frontline countries such as Turkey, where their numbers are higher than in other countries.

Turkey is hosting over 3.5 million Syrian refugees and over 330,000 registered asylum seekers from other countries. This makes it the country hosting the largest number of refugees in the world, who are most profoundly affected by the pandemic. The government of Turkey reported the first case of infection on the 11th of March 2020 and immediately implemented very strict measures to flatten the curve. Despite ranking 10th globally for the highest numbers of cases, the government of Turkey managed to keep deaths under 5000. In total the country reported 120,000 cases of the novel coronavirus but none of those cases were refugees or asylum seekers. among the measures implemented by the government of Turkey were flight bans, closing of the schools, suggesting self-isolation, reducing movements for people over 60 years and under 20 years of age, closing non-essential shops, and reducing hours of supermarkets with staggered entrances. These bans had very serious effect on the wellbeing of the refugees and asylum seekers who are living in the country (RI Turkey, 2020).

Raising awareness about COVID-19 is crucial to prevent the further spreading of the disease among vulnerable communities. The outbreak in Turkey has affected refugees and asylum seekers in different areas of their lives. According to a study conducted by Relief International Turkey, about  87% of the questioned Syrian refugees reported someone in their household lost their job because of the outbreak, 71% reported that it is impossible for them to access health services, and 81% reported they have urgent needs that are unmet due to the lack of employment. The top needs of the respondents were access to health services, food and hygiene materials. When it comes to how informed the refugees were regarding the COVID-19, 84% of the respondents answered to have received information. This clearly shows that despite the efforts of the Turkish government and of NGOs the needed information regarding COVID-19 has not reached everyone (RI Turkey, 2020).

Before the pandemic, about one million Syrians were informally employed under very hard conditions to be able to meet their basic needs. The outbreak of COVID-19 has considerably aggravated their situation (Kirişci &Yavçan, 2020). A large part of the refugees in Turkey lack skills and knowledge, therefore they have been employed mainly as unskilled workers in the area of textile, manufacturing or services, where they have either lost their jobs or continue working in environments that do not meet the health and safety requirements established by the Turkish government (Anadolu Agency, 2020). The economic effects of the pandemic on the refugees have been significantly negative. A study conducted by the Danish council for refugees in refugee communities in southeast Turkey, reported that, for 74% of the participants family financial means were depleted because of the restrictions imposed by the government, since even the households that were previously employed are now out of work. 72% of these households were unable to cover basic expenses compared to before the imposed restrictions (67%) (Danish Refugee Council, 2020).

In order to successfully manage the pandemic, the Turkish government and the European Union went on to close a deal in March 2016. The Turkish government would get help from the European Union in the form of two tranches of 3billion euros and in return it would increase its border security and control to reduce the number of refugees who crossed from Turkey into the European Union. In light of the escalation of the conflict in Idlib, the Turkish government announced in February 2020 that it would open the borders and allow refugees to cross into Europe (Kirişci &Yavçan, 2020). This one action caused a chain of reactions as many refugees sold everything they had to be able to get to the border with Greece and attempted its crossing. Even after weeks of forced quarantine, hundreds of refugees in Turkey were released, with many being left on the streets in locked down coastal areas where they were to find a way to make it to the Greek border. About 12,000 refugees flocked to Turkey’s land border with Greece. The Greek government did not open its borders. On the contrary, they reinforced the security and patrols, sometimes violently repelling refugees that tried to cross it, with tear gas, batons and paddy wagon. Many refugees returned to their original host cities in Turkey, where they faced homelessness, but a large chunk remained trapped in the borders between Greece and Turkey (Murdock & Turk, 2020).

It is clear that, the conditions in which the refugees have found themselves in, in Turkey have taken a turn for the worse from their already fragile state, despite the help that the deal with the EU is supposed to provide (Kirişci &Yavçan, 2020). The deal was very beneficial for both parties, but it has remained attached to the context of 2016. 2020 has brought a set of unexpected challenges for both sides and even more so for the refugees and asylum seekers. Therefore, revisiting the deal made in 2016 and coming up with more effective solutions that would help stabilize the living conditions of refugees is a necessity.

Sources:

Relief International. (2020). Impact on the COVID-19 outbreak on Syrian refugees in Turkey. https://reliefweb.int/report/turkey/impact-covid-19-outbreak-syrian-refugees-turkey-results-rapid-needs-assessment

Danish refugee council. (2020). COVID_19 impact on refugees in southeast Turkey. https://reliefweb.int/report/turkey/covid-19-impact-refugees-south-east-turkey-needs-assessment-report-may-2020

Kirişci, K. & Yavçan, B. (2020). As COVID-19 worsens precarity for refugees, Turkey and the EU must work together. Brookings.com https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/06/11/as-covid-19-worsens-precarity-for-refugees-turkey-and-the-eu-must-work-together/

Anadolu Agency. (2020). Syrian refugees in Turkey hit harder in COVID_19 outbreak, expert says. DailySabah.com https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/syrian-refugees-in-turkey-hit-harder-in-covid-19-outbreak-expert-says/news

Murdock, H. & Turk, Sh. (2020). Turkey releases refugees quarantine amid coronavirus lockdown. VOANEWS.com https://www.voanews.com/europe/turkey-releases-refugees-quarantine-amid-coronavirus-lockdown