Blog — RESPOND

Posts in Spotlight on RESPOND-ers

QNUSHYO: Advice Hub of RESPOND in Istanbul

by The Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul | RESPOND

QNUSHYO operates as an Advice Hub (Hope: Advice hub for refugees) for the RESPOND project. Amongst the various projects of RESPOND, the Advice Hub is an initiative that creates a safe space for the refugees and helps them integrate in host community through various measures. The name 'Hope' has been used intentionally to inculcate in the migrants, while in transition, a sense of empowerment and optimism to remedy the stress caused by their journey and the inhibitions they may harbor for their future. The project runs on a trial basis for the first year with support from RESPOND in Turkey and Iraq. It will later be implemented in other transit countries…

Spotlight on RESPOND-ers, Turkey, Advice HubsRESPOND Horizon2020April 7, 2020Swedish Research Institute IstanbulComment

A View of the Stereotypes of Syrian Refugees in Turkish Society

by Mahmut Sami GÜRDAL | Ozyegin University

I am an undergraduate level psychology student at Özyeğin University and am working as Dr. Rottmann’s research assistant on the Respond project. In this blog post, I would like to describe my experience in this process. Over the past few months, I gathered information about Syrians’ experiences in Turkey and how NGOs and government agencies are providing services and support for Syrians. There are a lot of negative stereotypes about Syrians in Turkey, and I know many of these stereotypes as a member of this society. Although…

Spotlight on RESPOND-ers, TurkeyRESPOND Horizon2020March 26, 2020Ozyegin UniversityComment

An Examination of Turkish Newspapers: Lack of Public Awareness on the Subject of Syrian Refugees

by Bahar Filiz | Ozyegin University

“When I saw the announcement for the research assistant position with the RESPOND project, I felt both excited and curious. I did not have accurate information about Syrian refugees’ situations in Turkey or the opportunity to communicate with them. I felt that there was probably a considerable amount of misunderstanding between Turkish citizens and Syrian refugees due to a lack of clarification about the Syrian refugees’ position in Turkey. So, becoming research assistant was a chance to broaden my perspective on this topic…”

Spotlight on RESPOND-ers, TurkeyRESPOND Horizon2020March 13, 2020Ozyegin UniversityComment

A statement by Hammurabi Human Rights Organization on migrants and refugees stranded on the Turkish-Greek border!

by Hammurabi Human Rights Organization | RESPOND

Our organization condemns the use of refugees as an instrument for political purposes. Hammurabi Human Rights Organization calls on all actors to stop using this humanitarian issue for political goals and calls on civil society organizations and the international community to protect these refugees from cold, hunger, illness and other sufferings…

Spotlight on RESPOND-ers, Greece, Iraq, TurkeyRESPOND Horizon2020March 12, 2020Press Release, StatementComment

PRESS RELEASE: Institutional abuse of refugees and human rights violations on the Turkish-Greek border

by University of the Aegean | RESPOND

The Greek team of the EC-funded international research project “RESPOND: Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond”, expresses its deepest concern regarding the upsurge of racist violence, institutional abuse and human rights violations unfolding on the Greek and European sea and land borders with Turkey, where thousands of displaced people are stranded under inhumane conditions.

Spotlight on RESPOND-ers, GreeceRESPOND Horizon2020March 10, 2020Press ReleaseComment

Hidden infrastructures of the European border regime: the Poros detention facility in Evros, Greece

by Lena Karamanidou, Bernd Kasparek | Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Gottingen

The region of Evros at the Greek-Turkish border was the scene of many changes in the European and Greek border regimes since 2010. The most well-known was the deployment of the Frontex RABIT force in October of that year; while it concluded in 2011, Frontex has had a permanent presence in Evros ever since. In 2011, the then government introduced the ‘Integrated Program for Border Management and Combating Illegal Immigration’ (European Migration Network, 2012), which reflected EU and domestic processes of the Europeanisation of border controls (European Migration Network, 2012; Ilias et al., 2019). The program stipulated a number of measures which impacted the border regime in Evros:

Spotlight on RESPOND-ers, GreeceRESPOND Horizon2020March 8, 2020Spotlight on RESPONDERS, Glasgow Caledonian University, University of GottingenComment

The so-called “Malta agreement”: four months later

by Andrea Catani | University of Florence

On 23 September 2019, in Valletta (Republic of Malta), Germany, France, Italy and Malta – in the presence of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU and of the European Commission – drafted an agreement, entitled “Joint declaration of intent on a controlled emergency procedure – voluntary commitments by Members States for a predictable temporary solidarity mechanism”, known as “the Malta agreement”. This is neither an EU legal act nor an international agreement, but a simple “joint declaration” signed at an informal summit by a small number of EU Member State’s Prime Ministers, and yet, as it produces effects on people’s lives, having a better understanding of what it is about is relevant.

The main commitment stated in the agreement (paragraph 1) is to “set up a more predictable and efficient temporary solidarity mechanism in order to ensure the dignified disembarkation of migrants taken aboard, on the high seas, by vessels in a place of safety”.

Spotlight on RESPOND-ers, Border ManagementRESPOND Horizon2020February 20, 2020Spotlight on RESPONDERS, University of FlorenceComment

Securitisation of Border Policy in Lebanon and its Impact on Refugees

by Alli Divine, Johanna-Maria Huelzer | Lebanon Support

Lebanon’s borders are simultaneously porous, largely un-demarcated, and heavily militarised. Lebanon’s border with Syria, mapped by the French mandate, was never fully formalised before the colonial withdrawal in 1943. Characterised by fluidity, and circular labor migration, between Syrians and Lebanese through the 1990s, it was largely overlooked by state actors until the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011. Indeed, no formal international boundary agreement exists between the two countries.

Much like the border with Syria, Lebanon’s southern border facilitated constant flows of people and commerce until 1949, when the emergence of the Palestinian Intifada led to border closure between Israel and Lebanon. War between Israel and its neighbors in 1948 and 1967, combined with intermittent Israeli occupations of Lebanon’s southern villages, subsequently hardened the border.

Spotlight on RESPOND-ers, LebanonRESPOND Horizon2020February 17, 2020Spotlight on RESPONDERSComment

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