It is vital that responses to the COVID-19 pandemic support rather than undermine the rights and needs of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and IDPs. In this piece, the second in a two-part series examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Syrian refugees living in Turkey, Selma Akay Erturk traces the ways that different institutions... Continue Reading →
The effects of COVID-19 on Syrian refugees in Turkey
How is the COVID-19 global pandemic affecting Syrian refugees living in Turkey? In the first of a two part blog series, Selma Akay Erturk explores some of the ways that COVID-19 has changed the lives of Syrian refugees, who continue to make and be affected by diverse decisions relating to migration and mobility. This first... Continue Reading →
Taking refuge in time, space and place: The case of Syrian refugees in Turkey
This blog post explores the evolving relationship between Syrian refugees and their host communities within the physical and social space of Turkey, and within the context of Turkish history. Influencing these relations are changes in the Turkish economy, historical changes in Turkey’s social and cultural structures, and the impact of Turkish immigration, employment, housing and... Continue Reading →
The Ottoman Empire in Indian Literary Imagination: Charting Shibli Numani’s Journey into Turkey
How can historical manuscripts act as a 'corrective narrative' to dominant discourse from the 'global North’? This blog post by Sumaira Nawaz examines the role and influence of South-South relations on the Turkish element of the travelogue of Indian intellectual, literary critic, poet and educationist, Maulana Shibli Numani. Numani’s travelogue, Safarnama-e Rum-o Misr-o Sham, was... Continue Reading →
Municipal-level responses to Syrian refugees in Turkey: The case of Bursa
Turkey hosts the highest number of people forcibly displaced from Syria and local municipalities can struggle to meet their basic needs, leaving much-needed integration programs de-prioritised. A lack of data concerning the numbers of refugees in specific areas, and a lack of additional funding or local staff, are clear barriers to implementation, even where policies... Continue Reading →


