Turkish identification number issues plague Syrians in Istanbul
ISTANBUL, Turkey (North Press) – The problems surrounding the Turkish identification number (called a kimlik) and the inability of Syrian refugees to transfer it from one state to another restricts their ability to rent homes and apartments.
Therefore, Syrian refugees are forced to live in youth housing, which houses several nationalities including Syrians, and are run by people as an investment project.
The youth housing has posed problems for Syrian refugees, especially since renting a house in Istanbul without obtaining a kimlik.
If a refugee does not hold a kimlik issued exclusively by Istanbul, they cannot rent a house there.
“The failure of the Turkish government to solve the problem of kimlik transfer imposes great burdens on us, especially in terms of obtaining a rented house,” Syrian refugee Khalil Abu Walid told North Press.
Abu Walid, who comes from the countryside of Aleppo, works in a Turkish store selling eggs in Istanbul. He was forced to live with nine young men, but he finds it an uncomfortable experience.
“I have to live here against my will, especially since my kimlik is not issued in Istanbul,” he said.
Abu Walid explains that he tried multiple times to transfer the kimlik or obtain it from Istanbul through brokers, but most of them demanded sums exceeding his capacity. “Some of them demand 2,000 Turkish lira, and some demanded $400,” he added.
“The problem of not obtaining a regular kimlik forces us to search for remote areas within Istanbul to rent houses there,” Qusay al-Shamali, a Syrian refugee from Hama countryside living in Istanbul, told North Press.
“My family lives in the Asian side of Istanbul, and I work in the European side. In order to save on transportation and rent costs, I have to sleep where I work, in the sewing workshop,” al-Shamali added.
Syrian refugees in Turkey held the Syrian opposition responsible for finding solutions for them.
On Saturday, North Press attended a consultative meeting of the Syrian-Turkish Joint Committee, supervised by the head of the opposition coalition Nasr al-Hariri and the Turkish Immigration Department in Istanbul.
The meeting focused on the challenges facing Syrian refugees in Turkey. The refugees in attendance explained the difficulties they face, including transfer and renewal of kimlik.
The meeting’s organizers promised to respond to what was put forward and discuss this problem with the Turkish authorities, hoping that it would see the light soon, while media workers demanded the committee respond with “actions and not mere words.”
This came amid fears among many Syrian refugees that Turkish authorities would resume deportation operations for everyone who holds a kimlik not issued in the city in which they reside.
Turkish authorities were carrying out these campaigns before the coronavirus crisis, and some Syrians who did not possess kimlik at all were deported to Syria.