Domari Refugees

Invisible, Forgotten, Ignored: from in .

Around 30000 from live under miserable conditions in informal camps in .

 

European Roma Rights Centre
 

INVISIBLE, FORGOTTEN, IGNORED: DOM REFUGEES IN TURKEY

Since the outbreak of the war in Syria, millions of civilians have fled the country. According to UNHCR figures, as of 25 May 2014 there are over 2.7 million registered refugees from Syria, mostly in neighbouring countries.

Many of them found refuge in Turkey. It is estimated that the total number of registered and non-registered refugees from Syria in Turkey already exceeds 1 million. According to the UNCHR, the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey may reach 1.4 million by the end of 2014.

While the registered refugees living in camps and have access to basic services and facilities, unregistered refuges totally depend on their own capacities to survive. There are various reports in media describing the miserable living conditions that these people are in. Refugees belonging to the Domari people and nomadic groups which are perceived as Roma by the majority are in a particular precarious situation. The number of Domari refugees in Turkey is estimated at around 30,000; other Domari refugees can be found in countries such as Iraq, Jordan or Lebanon.

According to reports from refugees, Domari people were also targeted during the conflict in Syria and forced to leave their homes. Prior to the war there were already reports that Domari people were subject to discrimination and had been excluded from mainstream society.

According to the Dom Research Center, up to 300,000 Domari lived in Syria prior to the war.

ERRC staff member Sinan Gökçen travelled to South East Turkey together with local activist and researcher Kemal Vural Tarlan to visit Domari refugees in order to get first-hand information on their situation as refugees in Turkey and on what happened to them during the conflict in Syria.

The situation is alarming. Domari refugees in Turkey are living in miserable conditions in informal camps or in abandoned buildings, without access to official refugee camps and to basic services like water, sewage etc. Begging, and collecting paper and scrap metals are the main sources of income. Their overall health situation is precarious and children cannot attend school.

The ERRC will undertake comprehensive research into the situation of Domari refugees in Turkey.

(Photos by Kemal Vural Tarlan)

 

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