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International Conference Religion and Welfare in the European Borderlands from the Late 19th Century to the Present, Florence, Italy, 12 - 13 December 2022
Turkey
has been hosting approximately 5 million refugees recently. The number of refugees
has been accelerating since the Syrian civil war in 2011 and the regime change
in Afghanistan in 2021. The statistical data provided by UNHCR (2021) shows that
refugees using Turkey as a transit country have been abundantly from Muslim
countries such as Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, Iraq as well as Afghanistan and
Syria.
The
increasing number of refugees in Turkey resulted with a Readmission Agreement
with the European Union (EU) in 2013. A great number of drowned refugees in the
Mediterranean Sea brought Turkey and the EU to agree on a Readmission Deal in
2016 just for the Syrian migrants. The Deal provided 6-billion-euro financial
assistance to Turkish civil society organizations and municipalities. One of
the organizations funded by the EU has been Red Crescent. As a centuries-old
organization, Red Crescent has taken a significant role in food assistance,
conflict resolution and overcoming integration problems for refugees in Turkey.
The
organization which was established in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th
century has had a uniting force over the Muslim people. As a non-profit
humanitarian organization of the Muslim world, Red Crescent has been
trustworthy organization for both the Turkish citizens and foreigners. Even though
the payment of 6 billion euro was completed by the EU in 2020, the EU has
decided to provide additional funds for the integration of refugees in Turkey. Red
Crescent has been re-elected by the EU to direct the funds in health, food,
education and infrastructure fields. To promote religious pluralism and
protection of human rights, the EU has also motivated the collaboration between
Red Cross and Red Crescent in migration related projects in Turkey.
The
activities of Red Crescent have been permanently supported by the Turkish
society. Recently, many Turkish volunteers have acted in Red Crescent to
support integration of migrants. Consequently, the efforts of Red Crescent have
been supported by both the EU, Turkish citizens, and Muslim refugees. This
paper aims to make a field research and interviews in Izmir to evaluate the
contribution of Red Crescent to the social integration of Muslim refugees.
Keywords:
Social integration, Muslim migrants, Red Crescent, European Union, Turkey