Syrians in Turkey facing uncertain future whether Erdoğan stays or goes | Turkey | The Guardian
An estimated 4 million Syrians live in Turkey and their relationship to their adopted home deepened over the past decade despite an increasingly hostile climate. When polled, at least 80% of Turks say they want Syrians to return. This sentiment has found an increasing home across the political spectrum in Turkey, amid a rise in openly anti-immigrant xenophobic parties and where a broad coalition trying to unseat the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has attacked him from the right on immigration.
The result has been a tug-of-war between Erdoğan’s governing coalition and the nominally social democratic opposition Republican People’s party (CHP) over the fate of Turkey’s Syrian community. Both parties are openly competing to see who can promise to crack down harder on immigration and swiftly restore relations with Assad. When Turkey heads to the polls on Sunday the Syrian community is poised to endure loss no matter who wins.