Turkey

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are currently over 1,900,000 registered Syrian refugees living in Turkey. However, this number almost certainly falls short of the true figure, as more Syrians arrive every day, and not all are registered. Refugees living outside the confines of official camps are frequently not part of population estimates, and as a result, most available data consistently underestimates the scale of the refugee crisis in Turkey. Additionally, these uncounted refugees are usually the most at-risk due to the difficulties they face trying to access to essential services.

While Turkey’s camps offer a commendable level of support and efficiency in comparison to under-funded and less well-regulated camps in Iraq and Jordan, surveys conducted by AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey) in June and July of 2013 stress a desperate need to address family concerns among the refugees. With fully half of the total Syrian refugee population in Turkey under the age of 18, meeting the necessities of refugee children is one of Turkey’s greatest priorities in the crisis. The same AFAD survey found that 50% of Syrian Refugees (including children) report that they needed some form of psychosocial help; this includes issues such as stress, at-risk youth, early marriages, and education. Reports have shown low levels of school attendance amongst refugee children in particular. Only around 60% of in-camp refugee children attend school, with that figure plummeting to 14% for non-camp refugee children.

Refugee conditions witnessed during the Syria’s Children project were among the best in the region, with most children having easy access to schooling, and expressing a feeling of being somewhat integrated into local communities. Most families also had adequate access to food, and a vast majority of adults were able to find work, and felt accepted by local communities. Living spaces appeared to be safe and accommodating, which is rare for the region, generally. Turkish authorities have introduced refugee work protection rules that refugees feel has greatly improved their ability to safely provide for their families. Additionally, local Turkish landowners frequently help provide Syrians with living accommodations. As a result, cities such as Kilis, Reyhanli, and Gaziantep have essentially become little Syrian cities, with the vast majority of the population comprised of refugees living among local communities.