The View from Gaziantep Camp #1, a Refugee Camp in Turkey
As world leaders gathered in Antalya, Turkey, for the G-20 economic summit last week, the global labor movement mobilized for the annual gathering to push for pro-worker global macroeconomic and employment policies — and to stress the need for the central issue of the “right to work” for refugees and a coordinated global response. Before the summit, I joined International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Sharan Burrow and labor leaders from Italy, Japan, Brazil and Turkey in a delegation to refugee camp #1 in the Islahiye District, Gaziantep Province, on the Turkish border with Syria. Established in March 2012, the camp houses more than 8,000 refugees, including 2,500 children. I was humbled by the stories from refugee families and local officials, and I know my colleagues and I left with the resolve to urge our governments to support Syrian refugees and all those fleeing oppression and violence to build a better life among us.
Turkey currently hosts more than 2 million refugees, nearly half of them children. More than half of all Syrians have been forced from their homes due to the war, and the majority have stayed in the country or in the region. Only an estimated 6% have sought refuge in Europe. For the most part, the people of Turkey welcomed refugees as their guests, even with the limited resources available to them. One official from the Islahiye District confirmed that before the arrival of the refugee population, the entire district was comprised of 50,000 Turkish people. Over the past few years, with the arrival of 50,000 more refugees the district’s population has doubled, yet government institutions and even individual households were sharing what they could with the new arrivals. To date, the Turkish government has spent $8.5 billion on refugee assistance, and local officials spoke about the lack of needed resources to sustain the increased population. When we asked a refugee mother what she would ask from European leaders, she said, “I wish them good health and happiness and from God we want the war to end. We only want to go home.” She then proceeded to offer us all coffee from her tent. World leaders should learn from the Turkish people and their Syrian guests.
The world is experiencing the largest refugee crisis since World War II and global humanitarian leadership is needed now more than ever. The G-20 countries agreed to the need to regulate the situation and increase technical and financial assistance to help refugees. But more is needed. The majority of people from six G-20 countries, including the United States, surveyed in the latest ITUC poll agreed that their government should provide vulnerable people who have fled their country with basic social protections and the right to work.
Unfortunately, discussions at the G-20 were soon overshadowed by the tragic attacks in Paris. I joined with the United States and the global labor movement in expressing solidarity with the people of Paris, Beirut and all those affected by the brutality of the Islamic State group and global terror. Despite the emotion and tragedy of recent events and the ongoing sense of fear, we must refuse to give in to terror, xenophobia and scapegoating.
It is clear that right-wing politicians have not followed the example of their Turkish counterparts and have instead turned their backs on people in need to promote xenophobic and isolationist agendas. These lawmakers will only fuel growing threats and violence against Muslims in our communities and a backlash against families fleeing the very same group responsible for this terror, while undermining our position abroad. As governors throughout the United States express their refusal to accept refugee families into their states, I see the stark contrast between the politics of generosity I witnessed in Turkey and the politics of fear. The U.S. government cannot ask countries like Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon to accept surging numbers of people seeking protection if we’re unwilling to do our part to resettle a share of those fleeing violence, or even objectively screen the asylum claims of desperate families who arrive at our own border.
The labor movement knows refugee resettlement saves lives and enriches communities. We count among our members thousands of refugees and front-line service providers who uphold the integrity of the resettlement process. We will continue to stand against the politics of fear and exclusion and call upon our government to live up to its obligation to meet the needs of refugee families, whether they come from Syria or right here in our own hemisphere.
