Transnational Activities of Syrian Refugees in Turkey: Hindering or Supporting Integration
| Published date | 01 April 2019 |
| Author | Doğuş Şimşek |
| Date | 01 April 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12489 |
Transnational Activities of Syrian Refugees in
Turkey: Hindering or Supporting Integration
Do
gusßS
ßimsßek*
ABSTRACT
This article focuses on transnational activities of Syrian refugees in Turkey examining the rela-
tionship between such activities and integration. The main research question addressed in this
article is whether involvement in transnational activities hinders or supports the integration
processes of Syrian refugees in Turkey, by drawing upon fieldwork in Istanbul, Ankara, Hatay
and Gaziantep. I argue that Syrian refugees perceive integration as a survival mechanism and
use transnational activities as a strategy for adapting to a new society, especially when they
are faced with insecure legal status and a lack of access to rights in the receiving country. This
study contributes to the literature on refugee transnationalism and integration by focusing on
the refugees’perceptions of on integration processes and addressing the question of survival.
INTRODUCTION
Turkey has been receiving refugees displaced by the on-going war in Syria since 2011. Despite the
number of Syrian refugees settled in Turkey standing at over 3,5 million, Turkey has yet to intro-
duce an effective integration policy covering all integration domains. This article focuses on the
integration processes and strategies of Syrian refugees in Turkey and aims to investigate the inter-
sections between legal status, transnational activities and refugee integration. In doing so, I will
attempt to answer the question of whether transnationalism helps or hinders integration in the case
of refugees with insecure legal status and a lack of access to rights.
The linkage between transnationalism and integration is hotly debated in the academic literature.
While some scholars argue that they are mutually supportive (Hammond, 2013; Levitt et al., 2003;
Portes et al., 2002; Vertovec, 2009), others highlight that strong transnational ties cause weak inte-
gration (Basch etal., 1994; Faist, 2000; Kivisto, 2001). However, while most of these studies
explore how transnational practices of migrants influence their integration processes, it is important
to make a distinction between refugee and migrant transnationalism. As stated by Harpviken
(2014), the role of agencies; their conditions and experiential trajectories in war-related mobility
influence the processes of integration and engagement in transnational activities. The importance of
an agency’s role in understanding the nature of interactions between processes of integration and
transnationalism is also highlighted by Erdal and Oeppen (2013). In this article, I explore the links
between the concepts of integration, transnationalism and “refugeehood”to show whether being a
refugee implies different practices of integration and transnationalism. In the case of Syrian refu-
gees in Turkey, the main research question addressed is whether involvement in transnational eco-
nomic activities hinders or supports the integration processes of Syrian refugees in Turkey. I argue
that Syrian refugees perceive integration as a survival mechanism and use transnational activities as
*Koc University
doi: 10.1111/imig.12489
©2018 The Author
International Migration ©2018 IOM
International Migration Vol. 57 (2) 2019
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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