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Syrians Caring for Syrians: Transnational Care Networks in Turkey
Abstract
More than eight years after the beginning of the devastating civil war in Syria, there are currently more than 12 million displaced Syrians. Displaced Syrians are often portrayed in both policy-oriented and academic discourses as victims in need of help, especially from the “humanitarian” West. Rarely are they recognized as humanitarian actors even though thousands of these displaced Syrians have made concerted efforts to support other Syrians living in conditions even more dire than their own. My ethnographic research (2019-2020) looks at Syrian-led organizations based in Turkey that are set up by displaced Syrians to help Syrian refugees in Turkey and regionally. As of 2019, more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees were registered in Turkey, the largest number of Syrian refugees in any one country worldwide. Turkey has recently become a flourishing center of humanitarian aid work in the MENA region. Syrians have founded more than 300 registered humanitarian organizations that operate transnationally, closely collaborating with the Turkish bureaucracy, Syrians, non-Syrian Arabs, and Western actors inside and outside of Turkey. Turkish laws regarding organizations allow Syrians to organize freely, and Syrian humanitarian workers have often vocally celebrated this freedom in contrast to the restrictions found in other countries in the Middle East. However, those laws also render Syrian efforts invisible because the organizations are registered as “Turkish NGOs.” Nevertheless, Syrians who are based in Turkey and work in support of displaced Syrians through institutional means have a strong presence in both shaping the humanitarian field and policy-making towards Syrians. My discussion will explore this presence by attending to how Syrian humanitarian actors blend global, nationalist, and Islamic discourses to articulate a different vision of humanitarianism. Diverse groups of refugee and non-refugee Muslim Syrian actors have built complex transnational care networks that articulate a tapestry of secular, religious, and nationalist discourses. Speaking from the viewpoints of “marginalized actor” and “expert” at the same time, Syrian humanitarian refugees’ articulations of humanitarianism will contribute to growing scholarly discussions regarding both effective policy toward refugees and agency on the part of refugees.
Discipline
Anthropology
Geographic Area
Turkey
Sub Area
Diaspora/Refugee Studies