Turkey and COVID-19: Don’t forget refugees- Brookings
One of the most acute challenges relates to Turkey’s vast refugee and migrant population. The number of Syrian refugees, asylum seekers from a range of countries, and irregular migrants in the country surpasses 5 million. Most of them lead precarious lives in difficult circumstances, making them particularly vulnerable to contracting and spreading the virus.
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According to the latest figures from the Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), the Syrian refugee population alone is close to 3.6 million. They reside in towns and cities across practically the whole country, with only less than 2% living in camps. They were granted “temporary protection” upon their arrival and enjoy access to a range of free public services, including education and health care.
In the last five years, Turkish authorities have detained
1.2 million irregular migrants and have been able to return only a small percentage of them. Considering that not all Syrian refugees are registered, a conservative estimate would put the number of irregular migrants at
over one million. This, together with registered Syrian refugees, constitutes close to 6 or 7% of Turkey’s population.
So far, the government has not taken any specific measures with refugees, asylum seekers, and irregular migrants in mind. It has only posted and disseminated its decisions in various languages, including Arabic, concerning the fight against COVID-19 through the DGMM website. U.N. agencies as well as various non-governmental organizations have introduced programs to keep the refugee and migrant population informed of government decisions
▻https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/04/20/turkey-and-covid-19-dont-forget-refugees