The Impact of Forced Migration in the Middle East: Syrian and Palestinian Refugees

Year 2017, Volume: 22 Issue: 3, 183 - 202, 01.01.2017

Meltem İnce Yenilmez

Abstract

Forced migration in the Middle East dates back to the mid-20th century. This paper takes up the experiences of Palestinian and Syrian refugees and examines the impact of forced migration on the host countries and the region at large. It explicates the short and longterm economic, cultural and political outcomes of these two refugee flows and concludes that forced migration- although extremely disruptive to all involved initially- has a net benefit on the host countries in the long-run. It also explores the reasons behind the lack of regional coping mechanisms, including regional migration management mechanisms, and proposes that the terms such as “crisis” and “guests” should be avoided when discussing protracted situations because refugees are not able to repatriate to their countries of origin whenever they wish, and may instead become permanent residents of the host country because of the political and economic problems in the home countries

Keywords

Migration, Middle East, Refugees, Politics, Culture.

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