Moreover, Istanbul Mayor Ekremİmamoğlu of the
main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) penned an article this month
asserting that, although Turkey has accepted more refugees than any country in
the world, the lack of an effective and coherent national immigration policy
has furthered the cycle of poverty and impeded Syrians’ integration.
Writing in Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ),
İmamoğlu says Turkey’s 3.5 million Syrians refugees face significant financial
constraints and are mostly unable to secure decent-paying jobs, which means
they tend to live in shoddy and crowded apartments. He goes on to argue that
due to the state’s failure to integrate these new arrivals, local governments,
like that of Istanbul, have been forced to play a key role in protecting and integrating
refugees even as municipalities struggle with minimal oversight and funding and
a lack of standardised services.Erdogan, after sending thousands of these
refugees to fight in Libya, is determined to open their doors to Europe, not to
lose that bit of credibility that remains among his constituents.
Khalid Al Mansoor
Iran–Senior members of the cabinet from Afghanistan and neighboring states gathered in Iran’s capital, Tehran for a one-day conference to discuss the situation in the Taliban-ruled country.
