The effects of Syrians on socio-economic structure of Gaziantep city

The phenomenon of migration causes social change in the destination region and also transforms the migrants themselves. Due to the various political and economical reasons, Turkey has become one of the the first target region for Syrians who had to migrate due to the internal turmoil and chaotic environment that occurred in Syria in 2011. The migration wave from Syria to Turkey, has effected many other provinces, especially the border provinces of Turkey. Gaziantep, as one of the border provinces, is one of the provinces most preferred by Syrians immigrants. Being in a more advantageous position among the provinces of the region in terms of industry and job opportunities, economic and commercial relationship between Gaziantep and Aleppo in the pre-migration period, kinship and geographical proximity are the main factors that affected Syrian migration towards the Gaziantep province. In this context, the main focus of the study is the spread of Syrians to urban space and the factors that cause the segregation forms they create in the space due to socioeconomic structure. Accordingly, Şahinbey and Şehitkamil, the central districts of Gaziantep province, were determined as the research area. As a result of the preliminary research, 40 neighborhoods in the districts where the Syrian population is high and dense were determined as samples. In order to obtain the findings in the determined area, a separate questionnaire was prepared for both the local and the Syrian population. The questions were directed to the participants in two ways, semi-structured and open-ended. The questionnaires were applied face-to-face to a total of 800 people, 10 Syrians and 10 local people, randomly selected from each neighborhood. In addition, we tried to obtain general information and population data about the Syrians in their neighborhoods by interviewing each neighborhood mukhtars. Due to the low economic income, Syrians' first clustering was based on rental houses. The second step of clustering and spatial segregation was formed according to ethnic and linguistic structures. Finally, the spatial clustering of Syrians has been based on network relations. The network relations established by the Syrians were especially effective in spreading the place and creating demographic density for those who migrate later. In addition to the clustering of Syrians depending on their socio-economic structure, the exclusion practices and discourses of the local people are another important factor in the spatial segregation of the Syrians. In this respect, the spatial location and spatial segregation of the Syrians in the research area was based on both the internal dynamics of the Syrians and the exclusionary attitudes of the local people. The most comprehensive result of the study was determined as a result of the field study, which made inferences that the exclusion practices of the local people against Syrians have increased recently. It can be predicted that as the migration progresses, the spatial segregation practices in the city of Gaziantep will deepen according to the behavior patterns of the local people.