Turkey opened its borders to the people in dire need since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. Eleven years have passed and people tend to forget the details of how the war started and what has happened since then. Some far-right circles and the majority of the opposition in Turkey depict a picture in which the Syrian crisis is Turkey’s fault.

Let me remind you that as the uprisings against Syria’s Bashar Assad regime started in 2011, Ankara kept its good relations with the Syrian government and tried backdoor channels to convince Assad of a solution. At those times, the Turkish opposition was blaming then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government for protecting Assad and not showing solidarity with the uprisings.

After a while, it was clear that the Syrian regime wouldn't step back or communicate and instead, it intensified violence to end the uprisings. Ankara reacted and opened its doors to those escaping the country to save their lives.

Turkey reacted historically as a humanitarian state and provided a safe harbor for people regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds. But of course, this big scale of immigrants is a burden on the economy. Not only economic difficulties but also cultural adjustment problems have turned into pressing issues in the country.

Now after 11 years since the migration from Syria started, Turkey has demonstrated exemplary efforts in showing humanity and generosity. However, since the economic difficulties have deepened, especially with the pandemic globally and locally, the Erdoğan government faces challenges from the opposition concerning this issue.

It is totally understandable and democratic to criticize the migration policy of the government but it is unacceptable to demonize the immigrants and discriminate and categorize them. Unfortunately, this has been happening in Turkey since the first far-right party, the Victory Party (Zafer Partisi), was founded. Its leader Ümit Özdağ has basically offered to kick out all the Syrians and even ban Syrian kids from enrolling in Turkish schools. This rhetoric increases the tension and evokes reactions among the public toward the immigrants, which might lead to dangerous results.

Erdoğan's policy

To prevent such a danger, President Erdoğan’s words are very important. Last week he said in a meeting that "Turkey will continue to look after ‘our Syrian brothers who have fled war and sought refuge in our country." He added that "they can return home whenever they want to but we will never force them out of these lands ... Our door is open to them, we will continue to host them. We will not throw them into the hands of murderers."

I am personally very proud of Erdoğan’s words. He underlines that those who want to go back voluntarily are welcome to and will be provided help rehabilitating since Turkey is also working on the construction of houses in Syria. It is planning a new project to facilitate the voluntary return of 1 million Syrians. This is a very good initiative. It is not acceptable to force people to move but it is very crucial to provide them with a new living space to encourage them to want to move.