REFUGEE CRISIS
Some of the richest countries in the world do almost nothing. China, the
world’s second largest economy, with a population of 1.4 billion, has accepted
only 526 refugees in ten years – 0.00004 per cent of its population
size. Japan has the world’s third largest economy and a population of 123
million. Nevertheless, it has received just 16,150 refugees in the last ten years –
0.0013 per cent of the country’s population. South Korea is at a similarly low
level.
Lebanon, with a population of 6.8 million, is currently hosting an estimated 1.5
million refugees from Syria. The exact number is uncertain because the national
authorities demanded that the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) stop the
registration of new refugees in 2015. In addition, hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian refugees live in the country.
Turkey now hosts the largest refugee population in the world. The Government
of Turkey (GoT) estimates the total number of registered Syrians under
Temporary Protection (SuTPs) at 2,225,147 according to a new Policy Note
prepared by the World Bank, Turkey’s Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis
and the Road Ahead. The policy note collates existing publically available
material on the situation of SuTPs in Turkey and summarizes not only the
strategy and principles of Turkey’s unique response to its displacement crisis;
but also the challenges in managing the socioeconomic dimensions of
displacement. The Note also highlights remaining critical policy issues and the
road ahead for Turkey and what lessons could be drawn from the Turkish
hosting experience for other countries’ refugee response efforts.
According to the policy note, there are two key characteristics of the Turkish
response effort--1) that it adopts a non-camp; and 2) government financed
approach—which strongly differentiates the response from many refugees
hosting countries, where the tendency is to direct the refugees into camps
supported by humanitarian agencies.
The note sheds light on the most common issues faced by both displaced and
host communities in a development oriented response effort, including income,
welfare and employment; pressures on housing and services including education
health; and social tensions and community relations.
