Deserving Refugee or Undeserving Migrant? The Politics of the Refugee Category in Turkey
Deserving Refugee or Undeserving Migrant? The Politics of the Refugee Category in Turkey

Author(s): Funda Ustek Spilda
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Migration Studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Syrians; Turkey; migration
Summary/Abstract: According to the most recent UNICEF Turkey Report, “In 2015, Turkey became the largest refugee-hosting country in the world with approximately 2.5 million Syrians living under a temporary protection regime (UNICEF, 2015, p. 2) [stress added]. The terminology used in this excerpt from the report shows the duality of the categories used for Syrians in Turkey, utilised not only by Turkey itself, but also international bodies. What is striking is that the term ‘refugee’ has come to be almost equivocally used for Syrians who fled the war and sought refuge in Turkey, and not so much for any other groups.

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