URFA- Refugees are the target of attacks in all areas of life. Kübra Vefa from the Riha Bar Association drew attention that the problem lies in the implementation of the laws.

 

World Refugee Day was declared on June 20 in the 50th anniversary of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees signed by the United Nations (UN) in 1951. Since June 20, 2001, attention has been drawn to the situation of refugees who were victims of war or had to leave their lands for political reasons through various activities.

 

According to the data of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 3 million 600 thousand registered Syrian refugees and asylum seekers in Turkey, as well as 320 thousand refugees and asylum seekers from other countries. This segment, which has been added to the labor market in Turkey, is exposed to the worst conditions and has been the target of increasing hatred and racist attacks recently. Refugees who have been attacked and targeted are sometimes unable to claim their legal rights for fear of being sent back and having their work permit revoked.

 

Kübra Vefa, member of the Riha Bar Association Refugee Rights Commission, spoke about the situation of refugees in the country on the occasion of June 20 World Refugee Day.

 

'THERE ARE PROBLEMS IN PRACTICES'

 

Referring to the conceptual distinction between refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants, Vefa said: “The concept of refugee is legally referred to people who come to Turkey from Europe, but when we look at the practice, we do not find it appropriate to make too many distinctions. We aim to solve the problems by accepting that everyone is a refugee without discriminating between refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants. We are based on the violations of rights of women and children refugees. All refugees face different problems, but refugee women and children are more victimized. There are laws to protect women and children, but the problem is that they are not enforced. How much we can reach women and children is important. Children are often employed as cheap labor. This is unfortunately common in both Urfa and Turkey. Children are seen as cheap labor. They are forced to work to meet the economic needs of their families. For this reason, the rate of out-of-school children in the refugee population is quite high. Not only children are exposed to this, but there are more rights violations specific to children. Child labor prevention mechanisms need to be activated for refugee children, including Turkish citizens; however, we have problems at this point. There is no technical problem, but there are problems in practice."

 

‘MORE PEER BULLYING’

 

Stating that she has attended awareness sessions for the last 5 years regarding the rights of refugees as part of a special project, Vefa said: “We hold sessions on the most common types of violence and what to do. These sessions need to be increased. In order to use a right, it is essential to be aware of the existence of that right. Refugees face the most discrimination wherever they go. As a result of discrimination, the spectrum spreads to very wide areas. They face language barriers wherever they go. They are struggling very hard to overcome this barrier. Refugees coming to Turkey are exposed to a lot of marginalization due to political pressures. Recently, they have been turned into election materials by both the opposition and the government. We suffer the consequences of this. One of the most profound consequences is peer bullying. It is not mentioned much, but we observe this a lot in the field. Peer bullying is very intense among the applications we receive.”

 

'REFUGEE POLICY IS QUITE INADEQUATE'

 

Emphasizing that both the government and the opposition use refugees for politics during election periods, Vefa said: “This also affects the language of the press. It is as if in the news in the press, refugees are presented as 'criminal prone' people. There are criminals in every society, it is wrong to interpret this for refugees. Refugees came first among the victims of polarization during the election period. Refugees should not be used in politics. The discourses of political parties affected the language of the news shared in the press. A perception was created by highlighting the nationality of the person involved in a crime. If the perpetrator is Syrian, it was drawn to this topic and emphasized. For those who read this news; It is as if all refugees are prone to crime and it is the perception that these crimes came to these lands for the first time with the refugees. Social media also plays a role here. A video is being shared and shared unconfirmed. Even if the truth comes out, that video continues to circulate. Turkey's current refugee policy is quite inadequate. Refugees are forced to struggle even to pass through the door of the Immigration Department. Our priority should be to ensure social cohesion and to defend children's right to education. Refugees need to be supported to solve their legal problems."

 

MA / Emrullah Acar