Fearing expulsion to their homeland, thousands of Syrian refugees are quietly fleeing Turkey
With next June's Turkish presidential election fast approaching, the issue of Syrian refugees in the country has become a major topic for political parties. Politicians' speeches on the subject, repeated at every opportunity, are contributing to the growing wave of racism shown by many Turkish citizens towards immigrants in general - and Syrians in particular. Mediapart correspondent Hussam Hammoud reports from Gaziantep in southern Turkey on the plight of his fellow Syrians in the country.
AliAli feels under constant pressure in Turkey. A Syrian citizen, he was forced to leave his home because of civil war and fled to neighbouring Turkey in search of a safer life. When he first arrived here in 2015 with his family – his two brothers and his parents – he thought this would be his final journey on the road to exile. And he hoped to find the kind of stability that had been stripped away from him in his native Syria.
