A new survey shows people in the eastern border areas were more likely to oppose refugees’ settlement in Turkey compared to those in the western provinces.
The Spectrum House polling company carried out a study in five provinces with the largest Kurdish youth population to find out young Kurdish people’s view of refugees.
The study entitled “Perceptions and Attitudes of the Kurdish Generation Z towards Asylum Seekers and Migrants” was conducted with face to face interviews in Diyarbakır, Van, Şırnak, İzmir and İstanbul.
One fifth of the respondents said refugees should be allowed to settle in Turkey, according to the report.
The respondents in the western cities of İstanbul and İzmir were much more sympathetic to the idea of allowing refugees in the country, compared to the respondents in the other three provinces.
Over 34 percent of the respondents in İstanbul said refugees should be allowed to settle in Turkey, whereas over 80 percent of the respondents in Van, a border province on the route of the refugees coming through Iran, said refugees should not be allowed.
Impact on the economy
When asked about their views about the refugees’ impact on the county’s economy, very few respondents said “good” or “definitely good.”
Over 70 percent of the respondents in Van said it is “definitely bad.”
Most respondents were of the opinion that refugees “are a burden to the economy, increase unemployment, and increase competition because they are employed as cheap labor.”
Repatriation
When asked whether the refugees (from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Somalia) should be repatriated despite the Geneva Convention, which prohibits the repatriation of refugees in case their lives would be in danger in their countries, most respondents said “yes.”
Again, more respondents in Van and Şırnak supported repatriation compared to the other provinces.