.
Each year the President and Congress determine the amount of refugees admitted to the U.S.  with the 2016 FY proposal at 85,000 refugees.  According to UNHCR, by the beginning of 2015 there were an estimated 14.4 million refugees worldwide with over 4.2 million of them being from Syria. On September 10, 2015 President Obama stated that he is prepared to allow 10,000 or .0001 percent of Syrian refugees to immigrate to the U.S. in FY 2016. But since the outbreak in 2011, out of the 18,336 Syrian refugee referrals there have only been roughly 2,200 Syrians resettled in the U.S. who all face difficulties in rebuilding their lives in America after losing everything in their homeland of Syria. Seeking asylum is the first step for refugees but permanent resettlement is the only long-term solutions for normalcy of life and yet less than 1 percent of global refugees were referred for resettlement by the UN refugee agency in 2014.  Refugees who resettle to foreign land whether it be the U.S. or Europe face everyday challenges such as navigating daily life, rebuilding a career, and learning a new language. The refugee crisis continues to be prevalent not only in Syria and the surrounding regions but also in Washington, D.C. as the House passed legislation halting President Obama’s promise to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees in FY 2016. On November 19, 2015 the GOP sponsored bill passed with a 289-137 vote majority which will increase the vetting process of resettlement to include lengthy background investigations by the FBI. Other stipulations on the screening process will include interviews, biometric collections, religious affiliations, and family histories among other authenticity checklists. President Obama threatened to veto the bill if it reaches his desk commenting on Twitter, “slamming the door in the face of refugees would betray our deepest values. That’s not who we are. And it’s not what we’re going to do.” Newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan defended his support of the bill, “We are a compassionate nation. We always have been, and we always will be. But we also must remember that our first priority is to protect the American people.” The bill comes after a horrific terrorist attack by ISIS in Paris over the weekend prior to the G20 Summit held in Antalya, Turkey. The world’s top leaders came together to discuss global economy but the weekend’s events were quickly diverted to discussions for a joint action against terrorism. Aftermath of the G20 Summit in Turkey At the conclusion of the G20 Summit, President Obama and President Erdogan presented a united front on combating terrorism as fellow NATO-allies as well as promising to alleviate the burden from Turkey on managing the refugee crisis. The U.S. has historically been the leader in providing humanitarian assistance to displaced persons but with the controversy surrounding refugees and their ties to ISIS there has been a drastic turn of approval from Washington on allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees to resettle in the U.S. In his concluding speech to the summit, President Obama announced, “Turkey has been a strong partner with the United States and other members of the coalition in going after the activities of ISIL or Daesh both in Syria and Iraq.” The cooperation of the U.S. and Turkey militaries have increased over the last week in hopes of combating ISIS and to gain control of bordering regions of Syria. The world finally began paying attention to the refugee crisis when the media published images of a three year-old Syrian refugee washed up dead on a Turkish beach. This past week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reminded America of the horrific image and the repercussion the newly passed legislation will have on future refugees trying to escape persecution from ISIS. In a press release on November 18, 2015, Mayor de Blasio stated, “This is the cost of not bringing in people who are innocent victims of humanitarian crisis.” Turkey has vigilantly provided help to refugees in means of clothing, shelter, education but also healthcare infrastructure. At an event hosted by the Turkish Heritage Organization, Dr. Fuat Oktay from the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) stressed that Turkey needs the support of the international community to build capacity in the healthcare and education systems for refugees. Dr. Oktay called for a more robust international response to the Syrian refugee crisis in assisting Turkey on all levels of need. The Turkish Heritage Organization’s President, Halil Danismaz agrees with Dr. Oktay insisting, “Turkey is doing much to support Syrian refugees but cannot continue to do so alone. Additional support with Turkey’s allies, including the U.S., is required in order to make this effort sustainable.” Turkey continues to take on the brunt of the burden in the conflict ridden region by continuously accepting refugees among its current 2.2 million living throughout the country along with providing financial assistance which has currently reached over $8 billion USD. Turkey’s Burden The U.S. has vouched to continue its support for Turkey in providing humanitarian aid as well as militaristic assistance but the U.S. can do more in helping to alleviate the burden of Turkey taking in millions of refugees within its border. The newly passed House legislation will affect the U.S.’s ability to make good on its recent promises of increasing Syrian refugees to America but with Congress going on administrative leave for Thanksgiving break only time will tell if the legislation will stand strong in preventing thousands of Syrians looking for hope in a new land.   About the author: Brittany Walter is a Marketing Coordinator at the Turkish Heritage Organization. She recently received her Masters of Arts in Global Affairs and Human Security from the University of Baltimore. She also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at Washington College with a minor in Justice, Law, and Society. Brittany hopes to continue her studies in international security with a focus on Middle Eastern studies to combat terrorism.  

The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.

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U.S. and Turkey’s Cooperation on Syrian Refugees

November 25, 2015

Each year the President and Congress determine the amount of refugees admitted to the U.S.  with the 2016 FY proposal at 85,000 refugees.  According to UNHCR, by the beginning of 2015 there were an estimated 14.4 million refugees worldwide with over 4.2 million of them being from Syria. On September 10, 2015 President Obama stated that he is prepared to allow 10,000 or .0001 percent of Syrian refugees to immigrate to the U.S. in FY 2016. But since the outbreak in 2011, out of the 18,336 Syrian refugee referrals there have only been roughly 2,200 Syrians resettled in the U.S. who all face difficulties in rebuilding their lives in America after losing everything in their homeland of Syria. Seeking asylum is the first step for refugees but permanent resettlement is the only long-term solutions for normalcy of life and yet less than 1 percent of global refugees were referred for resettlement by the UN refugee agency in 2014.  Refugees who resettle to foreign land whether it be the U.S. or Europe face everyday challenges such as navigating daily life, rebuilding a career, and learning a new language. The refugee crisis continues to be prevalent not only in Syria and the surrounding regions but also in Washington, D.C. as the House passed legislation halting President Obama’s promise to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees in FY 2016. On November 19, 2015 the GOP sponsored bill passed with a 289-137 vote majority which will increase the vetting process of resettlement to include lengthy background investigations by the FBI. Other stipulations on the screening process will include interviews, biometric collections, religious affiliations, and family histories among other authenticity checklists. President Obama threatened to veto the bill if it reaches his desk commenting on Twitter, “slamming the door in the face of refugees would betray our deepest values. That’s not who we are. And it’s not what we’re going to do.” Newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan defended his support of the bill, “We are a compassionate nation. We always have been, and we always will be. But we also must remember that our first priority is to protect the American people.” The bill comes after a horrific terrorist attack by ISIS in Paris over the weekend prior to the G20 Summit held in Antalya, Turkey. The world’s top leaders came together to discuss global economy but the weekend’s events were quickly diverted to discussions for a joint action against terrorism. Aftermath of the G20 Summit in Turkey At the conclusion of the G20 Summit, President Obama and President Erdogan presented a united front on combating terrorism as fellow NATO-allies as well as promising to alleviate the burden from Turkey on managing the refugee crisis. The U.S. has historically been the leader in providing humanitarian assistance to displaced persons but with the controversy surrounding refugees and their ties to ISIS there has been a drastic turn of approval from Washington on allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees to resettle in the U.S. In his concluding speech to the summit, President Obama announced, “Turkey has been a strong partner with the United States and other members of the coalition in going after the activities of ISIL or Daesh both in Syria and Iraq.” The cooperation of the U.S. and Turkey militaries have increased over the last week in hopes of combating ISIS and to gain control of bordering regions of Syria. The world finally began paying attention to the refugee crisis when the media published images of a three year-old Syrian refugee washed up dead on a Turkish beach. This past week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reminded America of the horrific image and the repercussion the newly passed legislation will have on future refugees trying to escape persecution from ISIS. In a press release on November 18, 2015, Mayor de Blasio stated, “This is the cost of not bringing in people who are innocent victims of humanitarian crisis.” Turkey has vigilantly provided help to refugees in means of clothing, shelter, education but also healthcare infrastructure. At an event hosted by the Turkish Heritage Organization, Dr. Fuat Oktay from the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) stressed that Turkey needs the support of the international community to build capacity in the healthcare and education systems for refugees. Dr. Oktay called for a more robust international response to the Syrian refugee crisis in assisting Turkey on all levels of need. The Turkish Heritage Organization’s President, Halil Danismaz agrees with Dr. Oktay insisting, “Turkey is doing much to support Syrian refugees but cannot continue to do so alone. Additional support with Turkey’s allies, including the U.S., is required in order to make this effort sustainable.” Turkey continues to take on the brunt of the burden in the conflict ridden region by continuously accepting refugees among its current 2.2 million living throughout the country along with providing financial assistance which has currently reached over $8 billion USD. Turkey’s Burden The U.S. has vouched to continue its support for Turkey in providing humanitarian aid as well as militaristic assistance but the U.S. can do more in helping to alleviate the burden of Turkey taking in millions of refugees within its border. The newly passed House legislation will affect the U.S.’s ability to make good on its recent promises of increasing Syrian refugees to America but with Congress going on administrative leave for Thanksgiving break only time will tell if the legislation will stand strong in preventing thousands of Syrians looking for hope in a new land.   About the author: Brittany Walter is a Marketing Coordinator at the Turkish Heritage Organization. She recently received her Masters of Arts in Global Affairs and Human Security from the University of Baltimore. She also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at Washington College with a minor in Justice, Law, and Society. Brittany hopes to continue her studies in international security with a focus on Middle Eastern studies to combat terrorism.  

The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.