Integration problems for Syrians in Turkey

A boy looks out from a school in Nizip 2 refugee camp in southern Turkey. Many Syrians have lived here for more than five years, but have difficulties integrating into Turkish society due to language barriers and the trappings of informal labor. This camp offers high-end accommodations by international standards, but some residents continue to struggle with social isolation.

Built on the banks of the Euphrates River in 2012, Nizip 2 offers free education, health care and supermarkets to its residents. Families live in individual shipping container-sized homes, complete with bathrooms, heating and air condition - a stark difference from traditional canvas tent camps that are at the mercy of inclement weather. About 4,500 Syrians currently live in Nizip 2.

According to the Turkish Ministry of National Education, 40 percent of Syrian school-aged children are out of school. In camps like Nizip 2, free education is offered for students of all ages in Arabic, Turkish and English. Yet some refugees have found the process of learning Turkish to be slow, inhibiting their prospects for higher paying jobs in the country.

"For children, it’s better outside the camp because they are learning Turkish very slowly and would learn faster if they were in class with Turkish students," said Mustafa Omer, an English teacher in the Nizip 2 school, who is originally from Homs, Syria. "But they feel safe in the camp with their community, and that is most important to us," he told DW.

"The interaction between the [Syrian and Turkish] children is important to ease the social tensions," says Omar Kadkoy, a researcher who specializes in economic and social refugee integration. "However, both public schools and temporary education centers suffer from a mutual shortcoming: the lack of qualified personnel to teach Turkish as a second language."

Yet there are success stories. Mahir Ismail, 17, right, said he’s been studying Turkish for one year. "It’s easy to learn Turkish," he told DW. "I can understand 70 percent of it." When Ismail finishes high school he hopes to study engineering. According to Camp Director Ibrahim Halil Demir, 39 camp residents currently attend the nearby Gaziantep University.

Unemployment is high among Syrians, but many find low-skilled jobs, mainly in hard labor sectors, while others start their own companies. Of the 6,000 Syrian companies established in Turkey between 2011 and March 2017, 13 percent were located in the Gaziantep province, according to Kadkoy. Still, many Syrians struggle to transfer their skills into Turkey’s workforce.

Kahraman Marash, 24, seated, was in the camp to visit his grandparents on a day off. He works 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, at a kebab shop in a nearby city for 1,000 liras ($270, 256 euros) a month. "I want to learn Turkish and go to school but don’t have time," he told DW. "My parents depend on my salary."

Overwhelmingly, camp residents have one thing on their minds: going home. Mohamed Haaji, left, 17, picks vegetables and fruits for 35 liras a day ($9.50, 9 euros). He says there's no point in going to school because he wants to go back to Syria. Zakaria Aried, 57, right, is from Raqqa and is waiting for the city to be liberated from the "Islamic State" group.

Ayush Ahmed, out of frame, holds one of her two granddaughters. She has lived in Nizip 2 for five years and was one of the first camp residents. Both her granddaughters were born while her family lived in the camp. "If we stay here, my granddaughters will be Turkish," Ahmed said. "If we go home, they will be Syrian."