12 October 2020, NIICE Commentary 6144
Faria Ulfath Leera
The Syrian refugee crisis embodies one of the largest and most protracted and complex humanitarian emergencies of modern times. Since 2011, the bulk of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria have found refuge among host communities in neighboring states. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made the point that “immigration can bring substantial benefits to advanced economies, in terms of higher per capita GDP and standards of living. But the key to reaping these benefits is to address the challenges posed by migration in the short term and to ensure that migrants are integrated into the labor market.” The Syrians in current situation are yet not safe to go back their land, hence they demand more than humanitarian aid. That will both make the Syrian refugees self-reliant and mitigate the challenges faced by the host countries. As of June 2019, Turkey hosts 3.4 million Syrians, 662,010 people registered as of July 2019 in Jordan according to the UNHCR report and more than 1 million in Lebanon. These three host countries have faced socioeconomic pressures due to an increase in labour supply resulting in employment competition, rapidly growing demand in market. A recent study by the RAND Corporation that included interviews with stakeholders, a survey of 1,800 Syrian households and 450 private companies and 36 focus groups with Syrians and host country nationals, as well as migrant workers found that many Syrians wanted to work and contribute to their own livelihoods. But they face many obstacles, particularly to their mobility. For example, in Turkey, refugees are concentrated in areas with limited job opportunities; in Jordan, refugees find it difficult to move to the industrial zones where employers are incentivized to hire them; and in Lebanon, lack of a residency permit, limited mobility to work because of the fear of arrest and deportation. The Syrian labour force is vulnerable to exploitation by their employers as they have a very little room to ask for wages as equal as of the local community.
As the spillover effect of Syrian civil war which generated millions of Syrian refugees, Turkey opened their door to them, whereas the rest of the world kept their door shut. However, glancing over the research and surveys, it can be stated that Syrian refugees are an opportunity to the domestic economy of Turkey. Against this backdrop, Syrian refugees should be seen as possessing the ability to contribute to Turkey’s Eleventh Development Plan (2019 to 2023) and beyond. with the entrepreneurial skills of the migrants, a total of 1599 new companies were founded in 2015, from a mere 157 in 2012. The share of Syrian companies in total foreign partnerships reached 26 percent in 2015. A report by the Turkish Institute of Statistics (TUIK) states that Syrian deposits in Turkish banks amounted to 311 million Turkish liras in 2012 and had reached 1.5 billion liras by 2015. To integrate the Syrian refuges in the local market, Turkey needs to negotiate in terms of their skills which will provide the refuges with self-reliance as well as economic leverage for Turkey resulting in a win-win situation.
Jordan was long considered to be a destination for Syrian workers even though Jordan is not a signatory to the UN 1951 Geneva Convention. The Government of Jordan, through its Compact, which was presented at the London Syria Conference in February 2016, agreed to accommodate 200,000 Syrian refugees in its labor market, in return for improved access to the European market, increased investment and soft loans. This EU-Jordan trade agreement aimed to employ both qualified Jordanians and Syrian refugees under decent working conditions and provide refugees with the access of decent jobs for both men and women. Recovering initial shortcomings, incremental adjustments has been made and Syrian refugees are now permitted to work in and establishing a committee to consider opening other sectors to Syrians; making work permits in some sectors seasonal and/or not tied to one employer; implementing the home-based business registration policy in 2017 and then extending it to cover Syrian refugees in host communities; and other tweaks.
As of 2017, the presence of nearly 1.5 million Syrian refugees in a country of 4 million is undoubtedly overwhelming for the society as well as for the economy of Lebanon. One of the main benefits of hosting the refugees – albeit one that is often overshadowed – of the presence of several hundred thousand Syrian workers is the large supply of cheap labor that has allowed many Lebanese companies to reduce their payroll costs and their overall costs in a particularly difficult context. Unlike Turkey and Jordan, the scenario for Syrian refugees in Lebanon is a bit different. The living and working condition of the Syrian refugees in Lebanese land are not quite pleasant. According to a survey by BMJ Global Health of 1902 households, including 12708 individuals and 4377 working children, female-headed households are poorer and more food-insecure than male-headed households. Among working children (4–18 years), the average age of starting work is 10.9 years and 74.8 percent worked in agriculture. This depicts an exploitative nature towards the Syrian refugees while extracting economic benefits from them at low wages.
American think tank, RAND Corporation, has given following recommendations for its primary intended audience of the host country governments, donor countries, and multilateral agencies in devising practical policies after conducting a research though in-depth interviews, focus groups surveys of Syrian households, and surveys of firms to help refugees find economic opportunities in host communities:
- Expanding Turkish-language training and capacity, in combination with what is expected in the Turkish workplace. Prioritizing Syrians in the labor force for spaces in Turkish as a Second language (TSL) classes.
- Making language training part of a broader training and job placement package for Syrians, targeted at organized industrial zones in cities outside of Istanbul (such as Adana, Bursa, and Izmir).
- Facilitating work permits for Syrians under temporary protection status.
- Expediting recognition of Syrian credentials and educational degrees in Turkey.
- Conducting demand-driven, on the-job training for both Syrians and Turks, linked to employment opportunities.
- Providing safe transportation for women to places of employment to increase their involvement in working sectors.
- As a delicate economy, investing in large-scale infrastructure projects in health, education, transportation, and utilities across multiple sectors by the government of Lebanon would help the Lebanese as well as the Syrian refugees to build capacities.
- Decreasing restrictions by the host countries on sectors where Syrians can work will make the market more liberal for them.
Host countries have an opportunity to capitalize on the presence of refugees to grow their own economies for the mutual benefit of all. Addressing this situation demands more cooperation from the host government. These measure could be taken in parallel with lowering restrictions on where Syrians can work to create an environment that facilitates entrepreneurship for both host country nationals and Syrian entrepreneurs. Assessing the refugees’ skills and relocating them in suitable jobs will have mutually beneficial outcomes. Suitable jobs can enhance the lives of Syrian refugees with an outcome that supports stability in the host communities.
