The most important thing to remember is refugees aren’t numbers
In Syria, every man must undergo mandatory military conscription and I reached the age of conscription after the revolution and war started. Normally, military service lasts for 1 and a half years, but because of the war once you enlist there is no end. My family knew the only way for me to avoid conscription was for us to leave.
When we left Syria, the Turkish/Syrian border was under rebel control but the town I lived in was under the control of the regime and it was hard to cross from a regime-controlled territory to a rebel held one. Our only option was to cross into Lebanon, but we were only there for a night because we had no other way to cross into Turkey. We could have stayed in Lebanon, but we felt Turkey was a better option in terms of living standards and we felt the level of racism in Lebanon was high.
Back then, Turkey didn’t require Syrians to have a visa and it was easy for us to cross the border, but we were part of the last group to cross legally from Lebanon to Turkey. The entire journey, from leaving Syria to arriving in Turkey took around 2 and a half days. When we left Syria, we were finally free to express our anti-regime beliefs. As long as the regime is in power, we can’t go back.
My uncle was already in Turkey, and we stayed with him for a week until my parents found work and managed to rent an apartment. Beyond this, there was no support for us when we arrived. If we wanted to learn Turkish, we would have to pay but luckily if anyone needed to go to hospital we wouldn’t have to pay. It was impossible for us to make friends with Turkish people because we couldn’t speak the language.
The opposition is deliberately trying to misrepresent the Syrian people and our traditions by calling us terrorists. The rhetoric is getting worse because the elections are coming up next year.
Recently, there has been a rise in opposition parties banning Syrians from renting properties. The local population is actively refusing the existence of Syrian refugees. This is the result of the anti-Syrian and anti-refugee speech in the media. The opposition is deliberately trying to misrepresent the Syrian people and our traditions by calling us terrorists. The rhetoric is getting worse because the elections are coming up next year.
I’ve personally been a victim of this racism and hate speech. A little while ago, my phone was stolen by a Turkish gang. I feel unsafe walking down the street. If these gangs see you walking and they see you’re a foreigner, they intercept you and humiliate you. They ask if they can make a call and then they take your phone. The police don’t do anything to help us because it’s Syrian vs Turkish. You don’t speak the language and the police don’t protect you.
You’re constantly worried. My parents can’t speak Turkish and they’re old and if my sister worked, any of them could be potential victims of hostile action.
In Ankara, one of these gangs was bullying a Syrian man and they asked him for cigarettes. When he said he wasn’t a smoker, the gang harassed him, and a fight broke out which resulted in one of the Turkish men dying. After that, any shop with Arabic letters or cars with Syrian number plates were destroyed. Hundreds of Turkish men came out and they swarmed Syrian apartments. They even attacked a health facility funded by the EU to support refugees. It’s out of service now. You’re constantly worried. My parents can’t speak Turkish and they’re old and if my sister worked, any of them could be potential victims of hostile action.
The entire election mandate is based on how to kick Syrians out, but now there’s also the added element of refugees arriving from Afghanistan.
To be Syrian in a country where ethnic fascism rules freely is hard. We can try to avoid Turkish groups and stay inside but when you’re asked if you have cigarettes and respond that you don’t smoke, they still harass you. It’s the same situation for Syrians across Turkey. If Erdogan wins the next elections, we can stay but if the opposition wins then we will be asked to leave. The entire election mandate is based on how to kick Syrians out, but now there’s also the added element of refugees arriving from Afghanistan.
We’ve tried to leave Turkey before and go to Europe, but we were captured in the middle of the Mediterranean and we realised there was no way out. We had high expectations from Turkey as a Muslim country, but we haven’t received the treatment or ethics we’d expect from a Muslim country. We just wanted someone to be kind. We have relatives in Sweden, and they tell us it’s better over there.
In my hometown Latakia, I was a student, but I couldn’t learn Turkish, so I’m not studying right now. I dreamt of finishing school and studying chemical engineering in university because I love Chemistry, but I didn’t get the chance. I’m 21 and I work in a construction company right now because I didn’t have many options. My sister managed to study a little bit but then she got married and moved to a different city.
I think about Syria a lot and I miss our family gatherings. I miss my extended family and I didn’t get the chance to say bye to them because we decided to leave so suddenly. I only got to say bye to the relatives in our neighbourhood. We are in touch with them, but the electricity supply in Syria isn’t constant.
When I hear politicians claiming Syria is safe for us to go back to, they’re lying. There is no concept that Syria is safe. The same regime and government are still in power and it’s the same country we had to flee from. We can’t go back.
Being a refugee means being an individual without rights, at least that’s what I feel living in Turkey…a lot of the time when you say you’re Syrian, it implies you’re a refugee. For me, the most important thing to remember is refugees aren’t numbers.
Being a refugee means being an individual without rights, at least that’s what I feel living in Turkey. I’m not sure what it means to someone living somewhere else. It’s a painful word, I’m not sure I can say much else about it. Sometimes it depends on who’s asking the question because a lot of the time when you say you’re Syrian, it implies you’re a refugee. For me, the most important thing to remember is refugees aren’t numbers. They need to create laws which respect the rights of refugees and gives them their rights.