Istanbul Gelisim University - “Turkey has turned from a transit country into a target country in terms of migration”

“Turkey has turned from a transit country into a target country in terms of migration”

Making statements about the effects of the immigration wave from Afghanistan, Political Scientist Dr. Fırat Demirkol said, “The intense waves of immigration that emerged in a short period of time create difficulties for the people who had to migrate, as well as for the society receiving the migration. This situation may threaten social peace and public safety.”

“TURKEY HAS BEEN A TARGET COUNTRY”

Stating that Turkey has always been an important point of migration route due to its geography, Asst. Prof. Fırat Demirkol said, “Turkey, which was mostly a transit country in the past, has become a target country in the last 10 years, especially with the Syrian civil war, and millions of people have sought refuge in Turkey. This situation has become an important agenda in domestic politics.”

“IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR TURKEY TO BEAR THE BURDEN ALONE”

Emphasizing that the issue of migration or refugee has many dimensions, Demirkol said, “The humanitarian, economic, military, legal and cultural dimensions of the issue differentiate the evaluation areas and perspectives. While Turkey has not yet overcome the effects of the migration wave that started with the Syrian civil war, this time it faced the possibility of an intense migration wave from Afghanistan. This situation has become an important topic of discussion in terms of Turkey's domestic politics along with the international dimension of the problem. In particular, the EU's desire to use Turkey as a buffer zone and the effort to keep these population movements in this region within Turkey brings together many problems in humanitarian, legal, economic and social terms. It does not seem possible for Turkey to cope with the migration wave alone which occurs as a result of these humanitarian dramas in our region.”

Demirkol continued his speech as follows:

“Both the stabilization of the region, stopping the migration waves and perhaps starting the returns can be achieved as a result of the stability to be achieved with the contribution of the entire international community. At this point, Turkey has to seriously consider the possibility of facing a situation similar to the massive migration wave it faced after the Syrian civil war, and to determine a well-planned and transparent state policy in terms of both domestic and foreign policy. Intense waves of immigration that emerged in such a short time create difficulties for the people who had to migrate, as well as for the society receiving the immigrants, and this situation may threaten social peace and public safety. Especially the fact that the world is going through a pandemic period perhaps every 200-300 years makes the population movements in this process more critical. Strict control and intensive measures are of great importance to protect both the public health of Turkey’s residents and the migrating population.”