Wave of fear hits Syrians as Turkey announces new measures for refugees

Wave of fear hits Syrians as Turkey announces new measures for refugees
July 18, 2019, 8:39 am

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on July 13 that his government would take "new steps" toward the Syrians in Turkey, including "encouraging their return, deporting criminals and adding taxes on their medical services", causing a wave of fear among the refugees.

"We had to open our doors to the Syrians, we can not ignore what was happening and we opened our doors, and imagine the same thing that happens to us, who will help us?"

However, the president added that there would now be tougher measures against the Syrians. "We will do what is necessary to encourage their return, deport those who committed crimes, and ask for taxes from the medical treatment they receive," he said.

"Kimlek"

When the Syrians began to flock to Turkey as a result of the war in their country, they were registered in the government and given a local identity card or "Kimlik" from the city where they were staying.

However, in 2017, the Turkish authorities in Istanbul and nine other provinces stopped registering Syrian asylum seekers, with reports of their illegal deportation or forcible return to Syria or denial of health care and education.

As a result, Syrians who already lived an "unregistered" life in a certain area with intermediaries paid about $ 350 for an identity card from a different province and returned to live where they originally were.

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