Background: Helin Kilerci
Director of IMRA; International Migration and Refugee Association
- What are some daily challenges and difficulties refugees face every day? Could you describe the daily life of a Syrian Refugee in the South of Turkey?
- How are the refugees displaced? Do they look to integrate into Turkey? Start a new life? Are they looking for something temporary?
- How could this be changed? What is your NGO trying to do and how?
- What infrastructure issues do refugees and refugee camps face? How would you place this issue in terms of priority?
- What do you think of the concept of a self-reliant home for refugees that is easily displaceable and produces energy? → How do you feel about self-reliant homes that are easily moved and produce energy?
- There would definitely be a use for this
- Syrians barely have water and electricity, they have a huge lack of resources. A self-reliant home would fix many of their basic problems.
- What is the feasibility of such an idea? → What challenges we would face if trying to deploy this concept? Have there been other similar ideas presented to you?
- It is possible, but first a structured, fixed idea needs to be in place for it to thereafter be supported.
- United Nations and other big organizations would need to support it, it would require a lot of funding and be a very efficient concept and design that is beneficial.
- What avenues/processes are taken when there is innovation and funding needed for Syrian refugees?
- Have there been other similar ideas presented to you?
- We tried to implement the concept of container training (job training, language training, etc) camps for refugees, as well as a mobile mental health displaceable center but we didn’t get the promised funding for it. However, other NGOs have been developing such ideas and implementing them.
- There is the looming concept of a mobilized education center, that hasn’t been developed or designed yet
- What features would be especially useful to Syrian refugees?
- Solar panels
- Water filtration system
- Owning a garden with fertile soil
- Electric generator for a collective
- (Especially) Displaceability
a. Cultural differences between Turkish people and Syrians
b. 2011 Influx had too many Syrian Refugees coming in.
c. Visualization: They do Ramadan, and the electricity cuts off during dinner
d. Their original homes are like underdeveloped towns, with limited resources
e. When they come to Turkey, they stay in tents, in poor conditions.
f. Access to electricity and clean water, which is highly scarce
Turkish officials and NGOs saw that they must aid them.
a. There are far many Syrians coming in *mentioned that you can see the stats yourself online, then estimate far more than those numbers.
b. Some adapt, many Syrians are in schools
c. Syrian females wouldn’t work, they didn’t know how to work. They wanted to be housewives but that doesn’t bring in any money. They have to work in workshops and it’s not very safe for them.
d. Males worked too much in workshops and decided to go to Europe
e. Over 3000 people are deported every day.
f. Lack of job opportunities.
They look to integrate into Turkey because their country is torn. At first, they said they wanted to go back when the war is over, but now this is their children’s new country, and they’ve switched their mind. Overall, some want to go back (and are temporary), and some want to stay and go for a better future. This is mainly driven by economic reasons.
a. We specialize in education in various areas and providing education for these Syrian Refugees. We get university professors to come and help out these refugees, or cooks to help them be great cooks, etc. All of this is non-governmental and funded by philanthropists.
b. We also help in providing woman job opportunities by helping them become cooks and work in restaurants that may provide a steady enough income.
c. Syrians get a Turkish language certification upon learning Turkish from their education systems to then integrate into the culture and Turkish workspace.
a.The main issue is overpopulation/over immigration. They at first couldn’t house all of those refugees
b. Istanbul doesn’t give nationality, only work permit, that is the only way for them to integrate.
c. Syrians try to fix their own housing problem by having tents, there are too many.
e. There isn’t enough funding or an idea for housing, the “tent camps” are too numerous, and too many people leave for job opportunities with a risk of being deported.
a. It would start with collaboration with the united nations and partnering/joining an NGO trying to raise funds. Then there are many avenues it can go down, such as public donations, UN-allocated donations for refugees, etc.