The oxymoron of perpetual temporary protection: Syrians in Turkey

Abstract

The crisis in Syria has entered its fifth year, becoming a protracted conflict in international conflict terminology. Based on figures compiled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of March 16, 2016, there were 4.8 million registered Syrians in the neighboring countries of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Data provided by the Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM) in Turkey show that as of March 24, 2016, 2.75 million, or 57 % of the people mentioned above, were registered in Turkey. While 10 percent of the Syrians in Turkey were living in camps, the rest were dispersed in various Turkish cities. Three cities—Şanlıurfa, Istanbul, and Hatay— host more Syrians combined (1.2 million) than the entire European continent, where the total Syrian asylum applications were 935,008 for the period between April 2011 and January 2016.