Understanding Iranian Refugee Discourse in Turkey on Twitter by Using Social Network Analysis

Abstract

The problem of asylum seekers is still a major concern worldwide, including for the transiting countries like Turkey, which hosted more than 4 million asylum seekers in its territory. The main question is, how long is this going to continue? To answer that question, understanding what Iranian asylum seekers want is also very important, in order to define a long-term solution. Based on the data analysis in the paper, most of the refugees who have already settled in Turkey for more than 3 years, mostly want to join the programme of resettlement to several refugee recipient countries, such as Canada and the European Union (EU), conducted by the UNHCR. However, there are some obstacles for them to successfully be admitted in the resettlement programme. First, the acceptance rate is very low, under 5% yearly, and the required processing time is sometimes more than five years. The proposed solution is to open access to education for Iranian refugees and implement the EU Blue Card for the refugees and asylum seekers to resettle them voluntarily to EU territory. Hopefully, that legal solution can become a long-term solution for Iranian asylum seekers and refugees who are to this day still struggling in the Turkish territory.