Refuge in 'a Country Like Our Own': Explaining Spaces of Integration in the Case of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

Refugee reception policies in major receiving countries are built on pillars meant to allow for refugee integration in their host communities. Clearly defined and consistently applied policies offering refugees access to services such as education, housing, and employment are facilitators for refugees to establish a sense of stability. This sentiment translates into decisions related to individual and household mobility in the long term. Normally, the lack of a clear definition of refugee rights through these policies diminishes the prospects of refugees forming stable livelihoods. Hence, leading them to consider resettlement or return. Syrian refugees in Turkey offer an unusual example by which the lack of consistently defined laws and low rates of access to public services have little impact on the general willingness of refugees to seek resettlement or return compared to their willingness to remain. Cultural similarities that Syrian refugees draw between their community and their host community are key in opening a path towards integration that fosters their sense of stability in Turkey. Through a qualitative and quantitative assessment, the present paper redefines facilitators of integration with larger emphasis on the role of cultural identifications which have been generally overlooked in existing literature. The analysis covers data collected for the Syrian Refugee Youth Integration and Wellbeing project conducted in partnership between Koc University and the London School of Economics. Commonly defined facilitators of integration such as access to employment, education and housing are compared to cultural considerations made by young refugees as they make decisions regarding their futures in Turkey and beyond. The paper attempts to understand the motive of young refugees to remain in Turkey or seek resettlement at a defining point in their lives which ultimately shapes their futures.