Challenges for Refugee Children at School in Eastern Turkey

Abstract

IntroductionThe increasing traffic of international population flows to Turkey and through Turkey warrants more research as well as policies in regards to various migrant groups in the country. It is possible to claim that Turkey has become a destination country over the last decade or so (Sirkeci et al., 2015a; Sirkeci et al., 2012). Despite the fact that recent arrival of Syrian refugees in large numbers, Turkey have seen significant number of refugee arrivals in the past (Yazgan et al., 2015). Among the mover1 groups in Turkey, refugee children are a priority vulnerable group as in other parts of the world (Matthews, 2008; Russell, 1999; Sourander, 1998). The share of children among refugees have increased significantly in recent years and it was reported that 51% of refugees were younger than 18 in 2014 (Battle, 2014; UNHCR, 2015). Turkey's geographical proximity to both Europe and conflict zones in the neighbourhood makes it an attractive transit country as well as a destination due to its relatively stable economy and politics.In this paper, we hope to shed light on the problems encountered by refugee children who are more vulnerable than their parents. Teachers' perspectives are important as they are able to observe a large number of refugee children and their parents particularly in locations where refugee population are concentrated.According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were 19.5 million refugees worldwide by the end of 2014 while the total number of internally and internationally displaced (total population of concern) stood at 59.5 million (UNHCR, 2015). About 51% of the total refugee population in the world are children (younger than 18) (UNHCR, 2015). The total number of asylum seekers and refugees in Turkey, excluding registered Syrians (2.1 million), who are not considered officially as refugees, was 218,652 by the end of September 2015 (UNHCR Turkey, 2015a and 2015b). Other main refugee groups in Turkey are Afghans, Iraqis and Iranians. While a gender balanced population is evident, about one third of non-Syrian refugees and nearly half of Syrian refugees are aged under 18 and three thirds of these are at school ages (UNHCR Turkey, 2015b; AFAD, 2013). These numbers show that the number of children among refugees in Turkey has risen from 6,027 in 2009 to 8,743 in 2012 and to over 1.1 million in 2015 among whom only 20,619 are officially recognized refugees. These statistics show the importance of understanding this vulnerable group's needs and wants.Van is geographically and socio-economically an interesting province influenced by internal and international migration flows and since it borders with Iran, there is a concentration of refugee traffic of mainly Iranians and Afghans. Like in many other countries, these groups stay in Van until their legal statuses are determined, which sometimes is very lengthy and warrants significant level of settlement and engagement with local communities. Differences and similarities become central in this peculiar process of acculturation as defined by Berry (2002). Acculturation stress is known to have adverse effects on children's mental and emotional health (Fine and Sirin, 2007). Educational needs are essential for those refugees under 18 and their access to education paves the way for more optimistic outlook in life (Fazel et al., 2012). Education gives an opportunity to refugee children to engage with the local community while also enabling native populations to know refugees. This process is sometimes marked by difficulties and tensions. These difficulties are explored in this study from the perspective of teachers involved in education of refugee children in Van province.1. Education for Refugee childrenProblems faced at early stages of education are known to have risks of causing life time concerns in individuals' lives. Despite national and international obligations for the state to offer education to children, refugee children largely face difficulties in accessing basic education (IHAD, 2011). …