More than 10 years have passed since the Syrian revolution started in dar'aa, this war have changed literally every single thing in the Syrian lives, it left Syrians injured , hurted , homeless and a lot of them dead, it also caused massive damage to infrastructure, drained the economy, not to mention massive destruction that did not distinguish between a home and a public facility, or a medical or educational facility “the worst humanitarian crisis of our time” by the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees [1].

For host countries, the teaming asylum seekers and refugees as well present a costly burden because many of the host countries are either middle or low-income countries, which makes it hard to meet the asylum seekers’ and refugees’ needs adequately and points out the call for global aids Betts et al. Amongst other host nations, the influx of Syrian refugees and asylum seekers have placed untold burden on economy of Turkey and Jordan.

The Syrian conflict, it might take more time due to the sectarian nature which emerged throughout the conflict years and it also will take more and more time because of the massive numbers of the Syrian refugees, More than 11 million of them are now living in areas under the control of the regime forces, the coalition forces, so far, the restoration of more than 70% of the coalition forces, Approximately 2.5 million people live in the areas controlled by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration, in the northeast of the country, 2.9 million are currently living in areas of Idlib Governorate (northwest) and its surroundings under the armed opposition factions, 1.3 million citizens, out of a total of 1.9 million displaced Syrians, are in Idlib residing in overcrowded camps and shelters.

Approximately 1.5 million people live in the border areas between Syria and Turkey, after the Syrian opposition factions managed with Turkish military support.

Now were going to be more specific about the Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey.

In 2016, Jordan became the first Arab country to facilitate the entry of Syrian refugees into the labor market. This achievement was achieved with the conclusion of the Jordan Charter, which reduced the barriers that prevent refugees from working legally in the Kingdom.

By August 2019, the number of registered Syrian refugees in Jordan reached 660,3301. While about 20 percent of Syrian refugees in Jordan live in camps designated for them, the rest have found shelter in cities and rural areas across the kingdom. The capital, Amman and the governorates of Irbid and Mafraq, located in the north of the Kingdom, host more than three-quarters of the Syrian refugees in Jordan.

The influx of refugees has put increasing pressures on Jordan's resources and infrastructure, including its already fragile economy and social fabric. The effects of the Syrian refugee crisis on the labor market in Jordan range from a decline in average wages and job opportunities and harsh working conditions to the spread of child labor and the expansion of the informal labor market.

On the other hand In 2019, Turkey witnessed a 2 percent increase in the number of immigrants compared to the previous year and a total of 330,289 people left the country last year, 40.8 percent of whom were between 20 and 34 years old.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, with about 3.6 million registered Syrian refugees and 320,000 people of other nationalities. Turkey is home to around sixty-three percent of the total number Syrians that are displaced, estimated currently to be above 3.5 million.

Owing to the enduring condition of refugees in nearly all case and because most of the global refugees are “self-settled” considerations on long-term solutions and integration gain more interest from global players as well as several countries.

Till date, the available literatures also maintain that integration is a dual process that needs collaborative efforts from both the newcomers as well as the host society. “The importance and advantages of integration are the chief determinants that influence the readiness of the host states to practice integration, relevant international organs and refugees themselves. It is crucial to accomplish successful integration since it can constitute a lasting solution for lingering refugees. Refugees and asylum seekers can also be a part of the human and social capital, which couldbe immense benefit (culturally, in terms of knowledge and skills) to the host nation. This is an ‘all-inclusive system’ to ensure the human rights and dignity of asylum seekers.

Last but not least this study aims to answer the question of what impact the policies and procedures adopted by the Jordanian and Turkish governments have had on the Syrian refugees and how much this crisis affected in and out Syria.

Definition of Terms

Integration

As defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, “to integrate is to mix with and join society or a group of people, often changing to suit their way of life, habits and customs”. According to UNHCR, “The integration of refugees is a dynamic and multifaceted two-way process which requires efforts by all parties concerned, including a preparedness on the part of refugees to adapt to the host society without having to forego their own cultural identity and a corresponding readiness on the part of host communities and public institutions to welcome refugees and meet the needs of a diverse population”.

Migration

The term migration can be defined as the temporary or permanent relocation of people from their original resident to another. It can be within the same country or between two countries. It is a global phenomenon; most regions and countries are affected by it (ILO/ONCHR/IPU, 2015 pp. 17-18). Most migration by migrants is as a result of the quest for better standard of living, good employment opportunity and the like. However, the migration (forced displacement) of asylum seekers and refugees are primary as a means of escape from persecution, conflict, or violation of human rights [3].

Refugee

The expression refugee, as acknowledged by bodies like the Refugee Council, entails all persons who are on the lookout for refuge, irrespective of the acknowledgment of their assertion. According to Cohen, 2008, “Refugees” might be seen as individuals escaping from harassment or may refer to only those individuals who are legally entitled to live in a particular country. Consequently, in course of this thesis, the terms “refugee” and “asylum seeker” shall be used in interchangeably.

Asylum Seekers

The term asylum refers to protection granted by a country on its territory to individuals from another country who are escaping from serious danger or persecution. Asylum covers an array of elements including humane standard of living, permission to stay in the asylum country and non-refoulment. Asylum seekers are people who have escaped from their home country as a result of fear of persecution and have applied for physical and legal protection in another country but their application for protection is yet to be assessed. Such individuals remain as asylum seekers until their protection status is resolved Burnett and Peel.

Literature Review

People leave annually from their country and the lands that live in their country and others, which differs immediately in culture, customs and social traditions from their country to its land and they call on its land this journey that leads to the settlement of the individual in a permanent state called migration

Emigration is a word derived from the three-word word (hijra), which means to leave a place, or to abandon something and migration is also known as the movement of individuals from one place to another for the purpose of settling in the new place. [1] As for the terminology, migration is defined as moving from the mother country. To settle in another country, which is the movement of individuals in which the movement takes place individually or collectively from their original homeland to a new homeland and there are usually many circumstances that lead to migration, such as the spread of civil or external wars in countries, or poor economic conditions, which are considered as incentives for migration. Including cultural and socioeconomic shifts apart from change in habitation, migration is also defined as “an abandonment of resident by various people for various reasons, temporarily or permanently”.

Types of Migration

There are various types of migration, among which are:

• Counter-Urbanization: This is when people migrate from cities or urban areas to villages or rural areas This type of migration is usually driven by desire for a more relaxed lifestyle in a less populated environment

• Emigration: This is the migration of people out of a region or country. The people that move out of a country are referred to as emigrants

• Immigration: This is the migration of people into a country from another country

• Internal migration: The migration of people from one city to another within the same region or country.

• International Migration: This is the migration of people across countries or region, that is when people migrate from one country to another

• Rural-Urban Migration: This is the migration of people from villages to cities usually in search of employment of a better standard of living. It is a form of internal migration (Luthra et al., 2016:13)

Integration

I think that there is a fixed definition of the term integration, as it may describe an active community within the society of the host country without discrimination based on culture, thought, thought, thought, thought, or what we recognized as an issue for every human being with ideas and postulates and we affirmed the tyranny of a certain cultural aspect in a society at the present time We may perceive and understand the different concepts of integration and fusion. Integration means that you seek to adapt to the new environment by making the minimum of concessions. I mean that if the immigrant wants to integrate into his new cultural surroundings, he must look at some ideas, even in a least phased manner.

The integration of immigrants is crucial to a dynamic society. In the study of migration assimilation has long been an important sub discipline, which take on a “one-way social change at the end of which migrants were absorbed in the host society” (Gordon, 1964). Assimilation is currently viewed rather as a procedure than as a final outcome and it centers majorly on the social and economic integration of the immigrants to the community hosting them Brubaker. It is a multifaceted phenomenon; migration is a more wide spread occurrence at present and both immigrants as well as the host populations share in the costs of migration. Besides it is accepted generally at present that the flow of migrants in period of crisis or for reason of employment opportunities could possibly be anticipated for a short period of time but in most cases resulting in long term effect. This reception has lined the way to handling migrants’ long term requirements further than insistent charitable support. 

As assimilation has developed into a contaminated term in global text, the term has unenthusiastic implication in the Turkish perspective as well, generally indicating Turkish state’s policy on its Muslim populace. Hence, the concepts “integration” (entegrasyon) and “harmony” (uyum) are chiefly used in the texts in Turkish Akdemir.

As the civil war in Syria has lingered much longer than what was expected by the Turkish government, Dinçer et al. the position of asylum-seekers has changed from “guests” to permanent residents. “This called for the inevitability of regulating their status and attending to their needs such as housing, education and access to labor market. The Law on Foreigners and International Protection was adopted in 2013 to better deal with the rising number of asylum-seekers coming to Turkey and provided them with temporary protection. The fear of being sent back and not having any possibility of naturalization in the future stand as barriers in front of Syrians’ integration to Turkey”. Furthermore the discussion of “guests” implies that “Syrians are expected to return to Syria and this makes it difficult to justify the mid- and long-term planning of social policies”.

According to Tunç, 2015, “public education and children’s schooling emerge as the most pressing issues regarding Syrians’ integration. Children’s access to education is particularly important for both Syrians and the Turkish ministry of education. Syrians in Turkey especially want to find work for themselves and access for their children to education”. Bircan and Sunata, established that Turkey authorities started to be decisive about their education needs in late 2012. 

Yavuz and Mızrak, indicated that “asylum-seekers’ access to education, both formal and through temporary education centers, is increasing; however the children living outside the camps have limited access to schools”. While the education rate among children in camps is 90.6%, this rate is 26.3% for those living outside camps Emin, 2016. Roughly 500,000 asylum-seeking children are not in school. Poverty resulting from being displaced coupled with no recognized diploma are two major challenge as touching Syrians’ integration Yavuz and Mızrak. 

The susceptibility of immigrants’ children as well as their requirement for special interventions appear in the literature regarding Syrians in Turkey. “Both adults and children carry with themselves the traumas of the civil war, the experience of having feared for their lives, concerns about people they left behind and the ongoing challenges in their daily lives in Turkey. The children have the advantage of adjusting more easily than the adults however this advantage is not fully used due to the lack of education programs tailored for these children’s specific needs. Moreover the school teachers and administers are not trained to deal with immigrant children; they need to be better equipped in order to deal with linguistic and cultural diversity in the classrooms”.

Language barriers create a major challenge to the education of Syrian children. This is also a challenge in the integration of Syrians into Turkish labor force as proficiency in Turkish language and level of education influences employment opportunity. Syrian parents find it difficult to register their children/wards in schools and most who do, find it difficult to communicate with their children’s teachers. Also, the most of the Syrian refugees’ children live in unsafe and unhygienic conditions; and other living conditions that require intervention. Uzun and Bütün’s, carried out a study in Samsun which shows that, “Turkish children’s parents do not want these children due to concerns about hygiene and disease. The teachers’ efforts to integrate children are in vain when the Turkish parents constantly warn their children to stay away from their Syrian classmates”. Thus, there is no adequate accessibility to education as the school children may be secluded in available schools as a result of language barrier. This exclusion may further create traumas for Syrian children.

The plight of the Syrian refugees is deteriorating as the day goes by. The adults are increasing pressured in all major host nations (Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan). A shadow of despair seemed to be cast on refugees who had hoped to move to a safe haven (in Europe) through Turkey. Returning to Syria is even a more dangerous ordeal considering the ongoing civil war. The situation and way refugees are treated in the primary host countries are in different degree of benevolence revealing the economic circumstances, internal tension and foreign policy ambition of each country, Harpviken and Schirmer-Nilsen. Turkey being the host country of majority of the Syrian asylum seekers comes with a cost, as this place an untold burden on the already downturned economy. A lot of Syrian refugees live in camp (along the Syrian border), from which there have gradually moved towards the cities. Considering the conflict with the Kurdish PKK and in the bid to prevent the border regions in Syria from becoming areas of deployment for internal enemies (as Kurdish PKK had connection with the YPG in Syria), Turkish controlled zone – “safe zone” on the Syrian side of the border was established. Refugees are being resettled in this safe zone. Turkey is facing economic decline. There has been increased displeasure asylum seekers and government policies among Turks. Even if Syrians have been allowed to find work, employers are subject to restriction (for instance regarding the number of their employees who can be asylum seekers or refugees). Just like Turkey Jordan had been facing economic recession of recent. Its stability has been threatened by protest and apprehension as most critics are of the opinion that the Jordanian government has been generous to a fault. Despite the fact that Jordan has maintained a relatively open approach towards Syrian refugees, its steady course is beginning to face new challenges as Jordanians have progressively become weary of the refugees. 

The research study will mainly rely on theoretical research techniques. It will mostly be based on the opinions of the population, target governments, international and local reports and reports of organizations. The main purpose of this proposed research topic and study is to ascertain whether there has been positive or negative integration of the Syrians into the society between both Jordan and Turkey.

Comparison between Turkey and Jordan’s Integration Processes:

In Terms of Work

Jordan/In 2016, it recorded a breakthrough in the local market within certain regions in the governorates of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, within the local market, The UNHCR considered Jordan "an ideal host country for Syrian refugees over the past decade, providing safety and security for those in dire need, in addition to including refugees in the Jordanian national health response program and vaccination against corona and inclusion for all, which constituted a global leader in hosting refugees." Internationally, Jordan’s response plan to the Syrian crisis, which is dedicated to supporting Syrian refugees in Jordan for the past year 2020, witnessed a decline in international funding, as the value of the plan amounted to $2.24 billion, of which about $781 million was funded, at a rate of 34% and the size of the deficit in the plan was $1.46 billion. And a rate of more than 65%, according to the statistics of the Jordanian Ministry of Planning and 

International Cooperation

In 2016, a breakthrough was recorded for Syrian refugees, after Jordan allowed, whether residents of the camps or those residing in the governorates of the Kingdom, to work in the local market within certain professions, while exempting them from paying fees instead of work permits like other expatriate workers, in response to the recommendations of the London Conference on the Syrian crisis in year 2016.

The number of Syrian workers who obtained work permits reached 216,000, from 2016 until the end of 2020- according to the statistics of the Ministry of Labor of whom about 205 thousand are males and the rest are females.

The Syrian worker enjoys labor rights guaranteed by the Labor Law, whether in terms of wages, working hours, sick and regular leaves, paid maternity leave for working women and hours for breastfeeding her child, among others.

Turkey/Syrians ranked third after the Germans and Azerbaijanis in terms of establishing major foreign companies, hinting that the direct investment projects established by Syrians in Turkey have returned and will bring great and lasting economic benefit in terms of raising income taxes for the government, raising the level of foreign trade, reducing unemployment and other economic fruits.

The Syrians filled the labor void in several sectors that were suffering from shortages, such as the sectors of construction and mineral extraction and others. In addition, the integration of Syrians to obtain their citizenship means the transformation of humanitarian aid, which amounted to nearly $9 billion into taxes paid on a monthly basis to the government, according to Sober. news.

In Terms of Education:

Jordan/ Most Syrian refugee children attend government schools located in the camps or those close to their places of residence if they live in different governorates. Unfortunately, a large percentage of them are not eligible to enroll in these schools, due to their dropping out of school due to the situation in Syria and the exhausting journey of travel to the country of asylum. All these factors threaten the future of these children. So what is the solution? Among the most important opportunities targeting basic education, we find the initiatives of Relief International, an international non-profit organization that aims to provide support in various areas of development in vulnerable communities around the world. The organization provides remedial lessons for about 18,000 Syrian students who are struggling to maintain their academic level. These lessons include mathematics, science, Arabic and English for grades from first to high school, funded by UNICEF [4]. 

In addition to academic support, the organization's centers in Jordan offer a number of extracurricular activities such as football or drawing and arts workshops, which help children build team spirit and expand their horizons in safe environments. It is worth noting that the teachers and staff of Relief International initiatives are all Syrians residing in refugee camps and who have lived the same experience as children, which makes them more aware of their situations and more sympathetic to them. In addition to a number of Jordanians who work as assistant teachers or as part of the support staff. This greatly contributes to enhancing understanding between these refugees and the host community. Not only that, as the organization, with financial support from UNICEF, contributes to preparing students for the "Tawjihi" high school exams in Jordan. In the first cycle of this program, eight Syrian students passed the Tawjihi exam and received special scholarships to study at Jordanian universities. Turkey/Opposition Turkish voices had recently risen against the privileges granted by Turkey to Syrian students and they accused it of discriminating even from Turkish students by offering free higher education. But these allegations are not accurate, according to Recep Can Turk, professor of sociology at Ibn Khaldun University in Istanbul, who says that “in 2013, the Turkish Higher Education Council issued a decision to collect reduced premiums from Syrians holding a temporary protection card (Kimlik) without including this Compulsory naturalized Syrians or holders of tourist visas.

Can Turk explains that "the decision until today is in the hands of Turkish universities and it is possible by an internal decision to reduce fees and premiums for Syrians." He believes that, "After ten years of the presence of the Syrian brothers in Turkey, it is no longer justified to continue lowering university fees. This comes for several reasons, including their failure to distinguish them from other foreign or Turkish students, including economic reasons, especially with the increase in the number of Syrian students in Turkish universities. And perhaps it will block the way for some opposition parties that trade on this point and exaggerate it a lot.”

Chan Türk stresses that "the decision is for new students and will not apply to students previously registered in public universities. We repeat that the council left the room in its decision for universities to choose the mechanism they deem appropriate in their dealings with Syrian students. I think that even after the last decision, the university has complete freedom." Asking the Syrian to pay or not. Regarding the current fees imposed on Syrian students, which ranged between 300 and 800 Turkish liras, Can Türk states that they have now ranged between four thousand liras (about $470) and 30,000 lira (about $3550), depending on the branch and specialization. While the arts student pays 4,000 pounds annually, the medical student must pay 30,000 pounds.”

In Terms of Health Care

Healthcare services reforms have been implemented by Turkey over the past ten years, which is mirrored in the noticeable improvements at indicators like maternal and child mortality, life expectancy and accessibility. The successful of healthcare system and coverage performance has been remarkable, World Health Organization, OECD [5]. Many research on the effectiveness of reforms in healthcare in Turkey in the last ten years noted that interventions for health financing and healthcare services under the Health Transformation Program (HTP) resulted to noticeable contributions in making healthcare status indicators in Turkey better Atun, et al. [6]; Ministry of Health [7].

Jordan/Syrians have been facing difficulties in accessing minimal health care since a previous decision in November 2014 to stop free health care services for Syrian refugees residing outside refugee camps in Jordan.

According to a 2016 MSF survey on access to health care, 30.2 percent of adults in need of medical care reported that they had not sought it. The reason behind this was that they could not afford it. It was found that the average income for one family per month is 239 Jordanian dinars (272 euros) and 79.3 percent of families reported that they are in debt.

Table 1: Comparison of Syrian neighbor countries (Turkey and Jordan) financial and medical care

Sources: Extracted from World bank and UNICEF (http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php; Tekin et al., 2016; The World Bank, 2017; UNICEF, 2017). GDP: Gross Domestic Production

In addition, the change in health policy has prompted Syrian refugees to seek free health care services. The demand for MSF maternity and basic health care services increased by 20 percent in March, with some refugees coming from remote areas in search of these free services.

Turkey/Turkey has established 180 health centers for migrants, in areas where the number of Syrian refugees exceeds 20 thousand people.

However, the laws and conditions were not systematically applied, so registered clinics charged fees for services, hired Syrian doctors without equivalence with Turkish certificates and treated refugees with or without legal status. Informal clinics run by Syrians appeared in apartments and commercial complexes, in which Syrian doctors treated patients and the presence of these clinics allowed to meet the health needs of unregistered refugees.

In this context, the director of one of these clinics, speaking on condition of anonymity, told "Raise Your Voice": "Registered refugees have many options, as they go to our clinic or government centers and hospitals. As for the unregistered, this is the only place for them."

Until the publication of this report, there is no real number or an accurate census of the number of unregistered Syrian refugees in Turkey (Table 1).

Individuals generally seek to search for a better life, so most of them choose to migrate to new countries and places that help them improve their standard of living, or to escape from political turmoil and wars, but migration may have a set of effects on migrants and the countries they go to and migration affects some Individuals through the difficulty of adapting to the nature of life in the new country, especially with the emergence of cultural and social differences and also many immigrants find only difficult jobs to work in, which take long working hours, low wages and difficult working conditions.

1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) 2018–2019: In Response to the Syria Crisis. 2018. Retrieved from http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php

2. Tekin, et al. "Economic Impact of Syrian Refugees on Host Nations." 2016.

3. The World Bank. World Development Report 2017. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 2017.

4. UNICEF. Annual Report. 2017.

5. OECD. OECD Reviews of Health Care Quality: Turkey 2014. OECD Publishing, 2014.

6. Atun, R., et al. "Universal health coverage in Turkey: Enhancement of equity." The Lancet, vol. 382, no. 9886, 2013, pp. 65–99.

7. Ministry of Health. Health Transformation Program in Turkey. 2010. Retrieved from http://www.saglik.gov.tr/EN/dosya/2-1251/h/healthtransformationprogrammeinturkey.pdf