Life for Syrian Refugees Outside of Turkey’s Camps

March 25, 2015

The southeast provinces of Turkey, on the Syrian border, are home to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. Some of the refugees have been there for up to four years. Most are struggling to get by and trying to avoid having to go into a camp. The Turkish government is in the process of registering Syrians, but those who have not yet become “official” are not eligible for government assistance.

In Turkey, most Syrian refugees live outside of camps. About 300,000 of them are in the town of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria.

An estimated 200,000 live further east, in Sanliurfa. Many of the refugees in Sanliurfa fled last summer’s assault by the Islamic State group (ISIS) on Kobane, Syria.

Syrian refugees must register with Turkish government. Once they have done so, they can also sign up for services from local non-governmental organizations.

Many of the Syrians struggle to get enough money to pay rent, buy food, and travel to community centers where they might find help.

Many Syrian men are looking for work, but only a few are lucky enough to find occasional day labor

Female-headed households are especially vulnerable, and some have to send children to work rather than school.

Other children also often are not in school because they are not registered, or because they do not speak Turkish well enough to keep up with the studies.

Babies born in Turkey to Syrian parents are not automatically Turkish citizens. But at the moment, they also cannot obtain an official birth certificate that proves their Syrian nationality.