The situation in Turkey is different from both Jordan and Lebanon, the other countries from which Canada is accepting Syrian refugees, because the Turkish government and not the UN High Commissioner for Refugees registers and keeps track of refugees in the country. The sheer size of Turkey – as well as concerns about security in the southern regions where most of the Syrian refugees are registered – create additional complications.
John Holmes, Canada’s ambassador to Ankara, told The Globe and Mail that the Turkish government last week submitted a list of 5,000 names that Turkey was suggesting for resettlement to Canada. The Canadian embassy will now hand the list to the International Organization for Migration, which will try to establish whether those 5,000 still reside at the addresses where they’re registered by Turkish authorities, and whether those families are indeed willing to move to Canada.
Those verified by the IOM will then be given appointments for medical checks, as well as security screening by Canadian officials who are due to arrive soon in the Middle East. There’s a concern that the Turkish list may be outdated, and that many of the young men, in particular, may have joined the massive refugee exodus to Europe in recent months.
Mr. Holmes said Canada is in discussions
with the Turkish government about using one of Gaziantep or Adana
airports – the two main international terminals in the region – as a hub
for the operation in Turkey. He said the Turkish list includes a mix of
refugees residing in both urban areas and the official government-run
camps of southern Turkey.
Security is an additional concern. Mr. Holmes said many of the Syrians on the list proposed by the Turkish government are registered in areas near the Syrian border, such as Gaziantep, Kilis, Mardin and Batman. These are all provinces that the Global Affairs Canada website currently advises Canadians to avoid – other than essential travel – “due to an unpredictable security situation.”
Ankara has been accused of letting various Syrian rebel groups – including some of those that grew into the so-called Islamic State – use south Turkey as a de facto rear base as they fought against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
The region has become even more tumultuous in recent months as fighting has resumed between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which seeks an independent Kurdish state. Hmmmm...........To use at your own peril.
Related: http://syrianrefugees.eu
Militarization of the Turkish Syrian refugee camps and the city: (PDF Report).
Many locals have expressed their concern about the presence of armed Syrians in the camps and in the city. They have stated that most of the Syrians a re not innocent refugees or victims of war, but rather they are Islamic militants and Jihadists Migrants’ The long beards and the style of dress are given as proof. Locals argue that neither the camps nor the apartments rented by Syrians in the city are f amily homes. Rather, they are military bases where Syrian and non - Syrian armed groups stay and get military training.
Germany arrests Syrian suspected of at least once belonging to Nusra: https://t.co/cnsLsvzbgp.
— Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) January 22, 2016
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