Attachments
Foreword
2020 was the ninth year of uninterrupted rise in forced displacement worldwide. Despite the pandemic, the number of people fleeing wars, violence, persecution and human rights violations in 2020 rose to nearly 82.4 million people. Today, one per cent of humanity is displaced, and there are twice as many forcibly displaced people than in 2011, when the total was just under 40 million. While most of those forcibly displaced are internally displaced persons, there were 20.7 million refugees under UNHCR mandate, 5.7 million Palestine refugees and 3.9 million Venezuelans displaced abroad. These numbers indicate that, despite the pandemic and calls for a global ceasefire, conflict continued to chase people from their homes.
The conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) stretched into its tenth year, with more than half of its population still forcibly displaced. Syria has been the main country of origin for refugees since 2014, and at the end of 2020, some 6.7 million Syrian refugees were hosted in 128 countries. Each number represents a real person, a girl or boy, woman or man, whose life has suddenly been torn apart through no fault of their own. Since 2014, Turkey has been home to the largest refugee population in the world, with close to 4 million refugees and asylum-seekers, 3.7 million of whom are Syrians under temporary protection. Only some 1.36% of this population live in Temporary Accommodation Centres, while the vast majority live across Turkey's 81 provinces among the host community in urban, peri-urban or rural areas. Turkey's refugee response which is characterized by inclusion and its comprehensive legal framework for the Law on Foreigners and International Protection and the Temporary Protection Regulation, continued in 2020 to provide the basis for the registration, documentation and access to services, including health, education and social services.
In 2020, Turkey, like the rest of the world, was confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, both a global health emergency and an unusual humanitarian challenge affecting everyone without discrimination. The pandemic obviously has an impact on the study given that Syrian Barometer aims at looking into social perceptions of both Turkish and Syrian communities through their life experiences which have been shaped and evolved over the years of living together. One of the most obvious findings of the Syrian Barometer 2020 is that solidarity with Syrians on humanitarian grounds has increased during the pandemic and that Turkish society has continued providing support to Syrians despite the social distancing practices. The study also finds a rise in Turkish society's social relations with Syrians compared to the previous year, showcasing the Turkish people's extended hospitality welcoming Syrians in an unfailing manner over nine years which is very important for the social cohesion between host and refugee communities. The study, over the years, has been one of the key and unique reference materials on social cohesion in Turkey, demonstrating changing dynamics both from the perspective of both Syrians and host community.
We hope that the Syrian Barometer 2020 research conducted after nine years of living together against the backdrop of the pandemic will inspire many who are interested in working in this field, lead other studies in the subject and contribute to the policy development. We would like to express sincere thanks to Professor M. Murat Erdogan and his team for their commitment and work with the study. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution made by the Academic Board to the Syrian Barometer 2020.