'Turkey has been good to me' — Refugees, mosques and Christmas trees

With Syria and Iraq at her southern border, given the current state of affairs, Turkey has the worst imaginable neighbours.

The war-torn states are pumping millions of refugees into Turkey. And that’s not all. Hiding among the bona fide refugees are Islamic militants determined to target civilians in Turkey and beyond.

With such chaos at her borders and over 2.2 million Syrian refugees within, Turkey presents a strikingly calm look.

Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city of 14 million, is bustling with life on the streets. At the same time, a quaint calm prevails in and around the historic mosques punctuating the city’s skyline.

For me, the last 48 hours in Istanbul have been a revelation.

A different picture

I expected to be greeted by soldiers armed with sophisticated weaponry at the airport. In the mid-90s, I saw loads of French military police parading the airport and the streets.

I witnessed the same at the airports in New York after September 2001. Turkey, unlike France and the US, is no bastion of freedom and liberty. Yet, as she faces a grave crisis, she has not reacted with panic, and armed police and military are conspicuous in their absence in Istanbul.

A view of the Suleymaniye mosque from the Galata Bridge. —Photo by author

If one were to rely on the leading western news outlets, a very different picture of Turkey emerges where the Syrian refugees are being ill-treated and their human rights violated.

Other sources tell a story of a different Turkey that has spent over $9 billion to look after refugees and has allowed registered Syrian refugees to work legally.

Many have started successful businesses in Istanbul and elsewhere, creating a microcosm of Syrian entrepreneurial enterprise in the diaspora.

Twenty-one years old Dua Al-Hussain is one such refugee who escaped the Syrian regime and found refuge in Istanbul. She set up a real estate business and sells properties to buyers in the Arabic-speaking countries.

“I have eight employees and three offices in Istanbul,” said Al-Hussain, who believes “Turkey has been good to me.”

Syrian entrepreneurs like Ms. Al-Hussain, though few in numbers relative to the large refugee population, have become a source of economic growth for Turkey. They are facilitating foreign investments in Syrian real estate and other businesses.

John Cassidy, writing for The New Yorker in November, noted that the challenge of hosting large refugees was not economic but social and political.

He observed that apart from the 2.2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, another 1.1 million refugees are currently in Jordan and 630,000 in Lebanon. He quotes reports from OECD and the IMF to illustrate the fact that the three economies are likely to expand in the next year, partly because of increase in domestic consumption.

Christmas trees could be seen in malls and public places in Istanbul. —Photo by author

But, not all is well at Turkey’s border with Syria. Human Rights Watch, quoted by Al Jazeera, accuses Turkey of closing its borders to Syrian refugees. Also, the refugees told of beatings, detention, and expulsion by the Turkish border guards.

While Turkey gets the bad rap, the reality is that she is being forced by European countries to stop the influx of refugees from Syria, who would eventually like to end up in Western Europe as they transit through Turkey.

Her sustained, yet hitherto futile, quest to join the European Union could get a boost if she were to convince the EU that she could guard the European borders better by being a part of the EU.

Also read: Drowned toddler sparks fresh horror over Europe migrant crisis

The recent massacres in Paris and California have made Europe and North America realise the extended reach of the self-styled Islamic State (IS). Without formal recruitment, IS could still motivate lone wolves to commit mass murders of unarmed civilians.

The fear of IS trained and battle-hardened militants from Syria reaching the heart of Europe is a prospect most European leaders would rather avoid. Hence, the pressure on Turkey to restrict the flow of refugees to Europe by all means necessary.

Shops under the Galata Bridge are busy with customers as anglers fish from the bridge. —Photo by author

The anglers lined up at the Galata Bridge are oblivious to the large ferries crossing the Golden Horn or to the global reach of the Syria-based IS militants who could be transiting through Turkey to Europe and beyond. They are happy, catching the small fry and storing it in emptied yogurt jars.

What makes Turkey unique

As it bridges Asia and Europe, Turkey excels in the balancing act between beliefs, cultures, and worldviews. At any small café, one can hear Persian, Arabic, and Urdu being spoken, alongside Turkish.

At the crossroads of civilisations, Turkish faces and façades are simultaneously Asian, European, and everything in between. Until someone speaks, it is hard to guess his or her ethnicity. This diversity could be Turkey’s greatest strength, allowing it to be even more open and generous to its ethnic minorities, especially the Kurds.

What distinguishes Turkey from the rest of the Muslim world is the way it celebrates diversity in faiths and beliefs by integrating, among others, mosques and Christmas trees in the public space.

Istanbul is a place where as many women sport a headscarf as others do short skirts. Respecting choice and diversity has served them well. We could all learn from Turkey.