The first group of Syrian refugees came to Turkey in April 2011. A decade has passed but Ankara has remained resolute when it comes to both the wellbeing of Syria’s refugees as well as upholding its international commitments.
A decade has passed since the Syrian Civil War started, leading to the deaths and displacement of millions of Syrians, with almost 4 million refugees escaping to Turkey. As the war continued and Syrian refugees’ safe return to their country became more and more distant a possibility, the Turkish government allowed for policymaking that aimed at community building and societal integration to reduce friction between Syrian refugees and their host communities. While there have been multiple successes when it comes to Turkey hosting Syrian refugees, it has not come without challenges, both internal as well as external. One of the major ones was that the majority of the burden of hosting Syrian refugees was shouldered by Turkey alone, despite many assurances of support as a result of the UN Regional Response Plan in 2012 and the EU-Turkey refugee deal in 2016. Despite that, Turkey has remained resolute when it comes to both the wellbeing of Syrian refugees as well as upholding its international commitments.
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