Impact of Syrian Refugee Crises on Public Service Provision: Perspectives from Urban-Local Governance in Turkey

Abstract

Refugee and migration crises are among the most heartrending and vexatious humanitarian issues of this century. These crises are particularly evident in the case of Syria, where, since 2011, civil war and terrorism have led millions of people to seek refugee status in neighbouring countries, including Turkey. Since 2011, Turkey has pursued an open-door policy accompanied by a national temporary protection regime to protect over 3.6 million Syrians fleeing the civil war. Even though many of the Syrian refugees reside in refugee camps, a significant proportion (about 90%) are scattered in cities across Turkey, where they are confronted with challenging circumstances; notably, high poverty levels exacerbated by the high cost of living and limited livelihood opportunities. As a corollary, government institutions (the public service) in Turkey have the significant responsibility of providing essential services, including education and health; moreover, together with government agencies, NGOs are working hard to meet the needs of these people and for improving the quality of services provided. Against this backdrop, the aim of the study was to examine, analyse and understand the positive and negative ramifications of Syrian refugee presence on public services, specifically within the context of education and healthcare, and the role of NGOs while providing these kinds of services. Ensuring continuity of education and health service delivery to Syrian refugees is emerging as a significant challenge for the government in Turkey. Unfulfilled promises by the international community and the lack of commitment to burden-sharing from stakeholders have put the Turkish government under financial strain. The study adopted the qualitative research design. In-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and documentary reviews were the primary data collection methods. The findings revealed that the Government of Turkey is being overstretched by the refugee crisis, and this has affected the quality of public service provision. It is possible to evaluate the results of this study in three headings. 1) Policies implemented for the provision of Educational Services, problems in the provision of services, and capacity management. 2) Policies for the smooth delivery of health services and problems encountered while implementing these policies, and capacity management. 3) The role and deficiencies of NGOs in service delivery. The high and unexpected influx of people has caused disruption to social services. NGOs involved in the provision of services are equally over-stretched for lack of support from the Turkish government. Nonetheless, the situation has improved in recent times with the adoption of more systematic programmes and more extensive cooperation. In this context, this study is another modest contribution to current literature on the plight of refugees in Syria.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Mohammad Farhad Hossain (Supervisor) & Christopher Rees (Supervisor)