Roundtable: Effect of Syria Unrest to Turkish- Syria Border Cities’ Crime and Victimology Rates

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

Turkey is the most effected country by the civil war in Syria. The instability in Syria is not expected to be resolved in the short term. In this regard, more than 3, 5 million refugees in Turkey will be permanent to some extent in the country. The burden of the refugee situation falls mostly on the shoulders of the border cities (Sanliurfa, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Hatay, Mardin) in Turkey. In this panel, the current situation of refugees in border cities will be discussed in some aspects; adaptation and social solidarity of Turkish local residents with Syrian refugees, the economic aspects of the Syrian refugees to the border cities and the effect of crime and victimology rates. We have conducted two different survey to Syrian refugees (N=390) and local residents of Sanliurfa (N=384) to understand the certain problems especially outside accommodation centers such as increasing tensions between the locals and the Syrian refugees, economic, social and cultural problems and social cohesion v. social segregation. The dynamic of migration, crime and victimology rates and policy implications will also be discussed.

Sub Unit

• Area XIII: Roundtable Sessions

Chair

• Ekrem Mus, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey

Discussants

• Mithat Arman Karasu, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey

• Oguz Yildirim, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey

• Serkan Tasgin, Oakland University, Michigan, USA

• Ali Unlu, Independent Researcher, Turkey