Day 11 - Sultanbeyli Refugee Center and Women's Cooperative
Hey everyone!!! Today we visited the the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Assistance and Solidarity Association in Sultanbeyli. Here, we learned a bit about what the organization does before then moving to the Women's Cooperative to eat lunch made by both refugee and Turkish women alike.
However, before getting into all that, we should know a bit about refugees and their significance in the country of Türkiye. A refugee is someone who is forced from their own country to seek refuge in another. They could be fleeing persecution, war, natural disasters, or other events. Because Türkiye straddles the border between Europe and Asia, it has an interesting position regarding refugees. For those fleeing their country, it is often used as a way of transit from one continent to the other. However, it also takes in a large number of refugees itself.
Currently, Türkiye is host to about 4 million refugees. Of that number, over 3 million of those people are from Syria. That is over half of all Syrian immigrants in the world. Türkiye has had an influx of Syrian refugees over the last 10 years due to a few reasons. On Türkiye's side, they adopted an "open door" policy, allowing refugees easier access to the country and temporary protective status. A large number of Syrians were forced out of their country for two main reasons: violence around 2014 due to attacks by ISIS as well as the civil war under the recently toppled Assad regime.
These people are likely at one of the lowest points in their lives, having left their whole world behind in an attempt to start anew somewhere safe. However, the Turkish people have mixed attitudes towards the many Syrian refugees in their country. The anti-immigration sentiments often heard in the United States seem to be echoed here as well. We read of many Turks who have anxiety of Syrians being in their communities, concerned that they're stealing or committing other crimes. Some said that all of these refugees should be restricted to certain areas of the country or were asking when they will go back to Syria now that the Assad regime has fallen. People are scared of change. This is to say that many refugees have been met with hostile reactions to their presence. Part of the goal of the Refugee Center is to make refugees' lives easier while also trying to foster a sense of community.
For various reasons, getting stable footing in a new country as a refugee can be difficult. The center provides support and numerous resources through their different programs.
- The Child Protection Unit provides courses and information on raising a child and pregnancy. It can also provide money to the family to support the child.
- Workforce Services help to write CVs, applications, and more.
- Health Welfare Services offer psychological support, physical therapy, general care, etc.
- The mentoring program provides help for students, all taught/assisted by volunteer refugees.
- Damas Robo is an all refugee robotics team aimed at helping those that are younger learn a bit of science and engineering.
- The Social Market is a place where refugee families can shop for food without having to spend an egregious amount of money.
- They also offer so many more services, such as community tea (where both refugees and Turkish people get together for tea and to chat) and shelter for those who are struggling.
In addition, we traveled to the women's cooperative, Hemdem. This is primarily a kitchen where women are trained to prepare food and make meals until they are able to apply their cooking skills professionally. Not only is this job training, but it allows these women to form a sense of community with the people that they interact with.
Unfortunately, at both the center and the cooperative, we weren't able to talk with any of the refugees or women about these opportunities or their experiences. However, the importance of these organizations is clear. While we weren't able to talk with people at our visits today, a few of us talked with refugees who worked at a restaurant we went to for dinner. After chatting with the waiters for a while, we learned that many of them are refugees who were fleeing from the Syrian Civil War. They came to Türkiye for safety, but are currently going to university here as well. They were truly sweet and sincere people.
Everyone has goals and aspirations. It's important to give refugees a chance to live and achieve those dreams despite their situation. This is part of the reason that organizations like the Refugee Center and Hemdem are so vital.
If you're financially able and willing, you can donate to the organization using this link to help with their mission: https://multeciler.org.tr/eng/donation/
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