STRATEGIES OF THE SYRIANS TOOK REFUGE IN TURKEY TO COPE WITH MIGRATION: REFLECTIONS VIA ISTANBUL SAMPLE CASE

Abstract

People were forced to leave their home countries and take shelter in the neighboring countries as a result of conflicts which started in 2011 and still raging in Syria. Turkey is among the major countries which welcomes Syrian refugees with an open door policy and puts them under protection. The lack of scientific studies about “Syrian Refugees” reaching the number of almost 2.744.915 DGMM, 2016 as it might be considered as a new field, reveals the need to research this subject. This study aims to understand how Syrians who took refuge in Istanbul cope with migration. Main theories of our research are; cultural capital -an individual’s language, socioculture, education- and social capital, which defines the capital an individual has through relatives, friends and the ethnic group links. This research examines the role of the cultural and social capital that Syrian refugees have during the migration process pursuant to these theories of Pierre Bourdieu. Projected as a quantitative fieldwork, this study used the methods of “observation”, “in-depth interview” and “focus group interview”. Observations and interviews were made in different neighborhoods and districts of Istanbul. Based on the data acquired from the field, the effectiveness of cultural and social capital on the strategies Syrian Refugees develop while coping with the problems they face in their daily life and in the fields of education, children’s education, working life, health and social relations will be assessed

Keywords

• Migration,Syria,Refugee,Pierre Bourdieu,Cultural Capital,Social Capital

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