Why the voluntary humanitarian admission scheme?
07 September 2017
Amnesty International said about the Central Mediterranean route that "If the second half of this year continues as the first and urgent action is not taken, 2017 looks to become the deadliest year for the deadliest migration route in the world." In the first seven months of this year, 2,221 people lost their lives en route, mind you. The alarm bells are ringing in Brussels, and all eyes are on the fleet of dinghies crossing from Libya to Italy.
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Syrians in Turkey: Is Work Permit Regulation Enough?
05 July 2017
Since 2011, the Syrian Civil War has created five million displaced Syrians. With the world struggling to accommodate them, most of the responsibility has fallen on to the shoulders of neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Six years into the war, the initial emergency phase is over, as the outflow of displaced Syrians has declined. International aid interventions and institutions are in place, and for the most part, working. Now, the issue is less about emergency humanitarian aid, and more about sustainable integration. Hence, the role of public policy to enable labor market integration becomes more pressing and challenging.
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‘You shall not buy’: Syrians and real estate ownership in Turkey
21 November 2016
In September, 1,276 homes were sold to foreigners in Turkey. Among the top five foreign buyers were three Arab nationalities: Iraqis, Saudis and Kuwaitis. The non-Arabs were the Russians and the British. Together, these five nationalities bought half of the real estate sold to foreigners, according to official data. Similarly, in 2015, Arabs bought 45.9 percent of all real estate sold to foreigners in Turkey, dominating the top three once again. At first glance, all appears to be in order, and Turkey seems to be attracting a satisfactory amount of Arab capital. But why do Syrians have no presence among foreign buyers? Syrians represent about 3.5 percent of the Turkish population now. More importantly, according to the Directorate General of Migration Management statistics, some 90 percent
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