Syrians feel growing pressure from Turkey’s anti-migrant political wave

ISTANBUL – Anti-migrant sentiment, economic woes and political pressures are leading some of the 3.3 million Syrians living in Turkey to plan a return to Syria or seek shelter in Europe, according to migrants interviewed by Reuters.

They are concerned that rhetoric against migrants may rear up during campaigning for the local elections in March 2024, echoing efforts to tap into nationalist sentiments during the general election earlier in May 2023.

Many migrants living in Istanbul face a more immediate worry: the authorities’ deadline of this Sunday for them to leave the city if they are registered in other Turkish provinces.

One 32-year-old Syrian said he is saving up to pay smugglers, and that he plans to go to Belgium. Hardship caused by Turkey’s rampant inflation and anti-migrant rhetoric motivated his decision.

“We are blamed and scapegoated for the worsening economy. Discrimination is rising. It is becoming impossible for us to live here,” he told Reuters, declining to give his name for security reasons.

The 32-year-old is among those affected by Sunday’s deadline because he was registered in Sanliurfa province, in the south-east of Turkey.

According to rights groups, racist violence against Syrians is increasing and the authorities have adopted a tougher policy on migrants not registered in Istanbul, stoking migrants’ fears.

Another Syrian man, a 33-year-old teacher, said he could no longer afford to live in Turkey after spending 10 years in Istanbul with his two children, with his expenses exceeding his income.

“I decided to return to Syria because of the bad financial situation in Turkey. I know the situation is bad in Syria too but here it’s worse for me,” he said, declining to be named.

It is not possible to quantify the number of Syrians planning to leave for Europe or return to Syria.

Turkey is home to 3.3 million Syrians with temporary protection permits, according to the Turkish authorities. Istanbul has the highest Syrian population, with more than 532,000 Syrians.

While Syrians were assigned to provinces throughout Turkey, many went to Istanbul because of the greater number of job opportunities there. The authorities said they were unclear how many such people there were in the city.

Deadline to move

Mr Adem Maarastawi, a 29-year-old Syrian activist working in Istanbul, is registered in central Turkey’s Kirsehir province.

As the Sunday deadline approaches, he fears being sent to Kirsehir.

“I struggled to build a life here. How can I rebuild my life from scratch in another city?” he said, adding that he had looked for a job in more than 30 cities before settling in Istanbul.

Experts believe anti-migrant sentiment will dominate opposition campaigning for the March 2024 votes, as it did in the May election, and worry this could lead to more physical and verbal violence against migrants, including more social media hostility.

“Anti-migrant rhetoric is likely to rise before the March elections,” said associate professor of international relations Deniz Sert of Ozyegin University.

Local government expert Ali Mert Tascier said opposition parties are likely to use anti-migrant rhetoric, with municipalities being the main players in managing migrants.

During campaigning for the May election, the main opposition Republican People’s Party vowed to send Syrians back to Syria. It declined to comment on its migration perspective for the local votes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been fiercely critical of the opposition’s stance, telling a conference this week that Turkey’s hosting of refugees would continue unchanged.

However, ahead of the May election, Mr Erdogan had played up his plans to repatriate a million Syrian refugees.

“We will continue to pursue our voluntary return policy. It is, however, inappropriate to use migrants for political gain,” said Mr Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, Istanbul head of Mr Erdogan’s AK Party.

But Mr Maarastawi said he feared such campaigning would lead to a deterioration in the situation for migrants.

“I believe everything will just worsen for us as a result of more populist discourse during the local elections,” he said. REUTERS