3 insights for refugee work on the Turkey-Syria border

One of the greatest humanitarian challenges facing the world today is serving Syrian refugees who have fled to neighboring countries. In Turkey, some 3 million refugees are spread across cities and towns and most are unlikely to go home anytime soon. Government leaders, nongovernmental organizations and development agencies are seeking new ways to meet immediate needs while building a sustainable future. Among the most pressing demands are to help refugees integrate into local society, enroll in education, and become self-sufficient over the medium and long term. Devex spoke with Guler Altinsoy and Ali Ercan Ozgur, the founders of Turkey-based social enterprise International Development Management, or IDEMA, to seek insights into the innovative ways development organizations can help. IDEMA provides expert analysis and reporting for aid groups, agencies, and businesses, including studies on refugee needs in Turkey. Both founders have deep personal experience working in the border-cities where Syrian refugees first cross into Turkey. Drawing from their time in the field, they offered insights on what humanitarians need to know. An opportunity for social investment The pace of refugee arrivals into Turkey has recently slowed, so the need for immediate humanitarian relief is waning, Ozgur said. But given the sheer number of refugees in the country, Turkey is “finding crisis within itself,” he told Devex. Integration must be the next priority. “There is huge opportunity to get social development investment in this side,” he said. “As we have Chinatown, we now have Syrian town — small neighborhoods with Syrians,” Ozgur observed. He urged programs to help people from the two countries “to learn to live together.” Such programs could promote education, peace building, cultural empathy, women’s empowerment and child care, he said, particularly as more children are born to Syrian parents in Turkey. The Turkish government has given billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to address the needs of the refugees, including $2.7 billion in 2016. In 2014, for example, the share of Turkey’s total official development assistance allocated to Syria reached 65 percent, up from 52 percent in 2013 and 42 percent in 2012, according to the statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But relief is not enough, Ozgur said, emphasizing the need for key integration projects. Educational needs are still unmet Altinsoy and Ozgur urged humanitarian agencies to focus on education. “There is a generation being born in refugee camps in really difficult conditions. They have limited access to educational opportunities,” Altinsoy said. If their educational needs are not met, the society will be affected in future, she added. Vocational training for youth is one particular gap. Altinsoy recently spent half a year in Washington, D.C., observing the 1,776 incubation center and entrepreneurship ecosystem, which provides seed-funding and mentorship to startups addressing pressing global challenges such as education, energy, transportation and health. “We think that supporting entrepreneurship plays a crucial role to empower Syrian refugees, through opening new companies and creating new jobs,” she said. Her team now plans to build a similar entrepreneurship center in the border city of Gaziantep to support Turkish and Syrian entrepreneurs. “We are planning to focus on the food industry, potentially opening a food incubator, because the cuisine of Gaziantep is very rich and well-known, and also the cuisine of Syria from Aleppo is quite famous,” she said. Avoid short-term projects The challenges brought about by the surge in Syrian refugees in Turkey cannot be solved through short-term emergency aid. Altinsoy urged both donors and implementing agencies to have more patience in their approach, through longer, more consistent grants and programming. “We already see that [the Syrian conflict] has been ongoing for five years. And based on our findings, the refugees don't see themselves going back to Syria soon so they are going to stay in those cities of Turkey,” Altinsoy said. She urged groups to focus on long-term empowerment programs, for helping refugee households to become self-sufficient and more resilient to shocks. Programs that are currently being funded for just eight to 12 months won’t make a real impact, she said. Ozgur also urged international actors to seek out local partner organizations that understand the local context. Global groups could, for example, work with local NGOs that have been in existence for at least 10 years — a benchmark to separate authentic organizations from newbies springing up to take advantage of the current humanitarian crisis. “I’ll definitely encourage development agencies or international organizations to work with some local partners, including public administrations, NGOs, local foundations and development management organizations like us,” he said. Local connections can also mitigate concerns about security, particularly for longer-term projects. “Many experts might perceive Turkey as a dangerous place to work, which I believe is not but we have local experts on the ground [to do the job],” Ozgur said. Check out more insights and analysis for global development leaders like you, and sign up as an Executive Member to receive the information you need for your organization to thrive.