Cohesion policies for asylum seekers and children under temporary protection: The case of children who are dragged into crime

Turkey is always faced with the issue of international migration because of its geopolitical position and historical heritage. Due to the events in Syria since 2011 there has been a rapid mass migration to Turkey. Asylum seekers who are forced to international migration due to imperative reasons such as war and safety of life, leave their entire life experience behind and often migrate experiencing traumatic events. The events that happened before, during and after migration also affect the whole lives of these people. Children are the biggest victims of migration. The child who is subject to international migration deprived of basic needs such as nutrition, housing, health and education through the migration process, enters into a multifaceted disadvantage and victimization when the traumas he or she experiences are added to the vulnerability caused by childhood. Although there are many legal status of the child subject to international migration, we are referring to the existence of asylum seekers and children under temporary protection in Turkey in the context of the legal arrangements carried out by our country. The painful experiences of asylum seekers and children under temporary protection, such as family losses, poverty, deprivation, abuse, traumas, ostracisation, discrimination, child labour, deprivation of education, are very difficult for a child to endure. Just as the child is passive in the occurrence of all negative events such as wars, violence and forced migration, the child's acquaintance with crime is also resulting from the factors outside the child's will and the influence of his/her developmental period. Accordingly, in our thesis titled "Cohesion Policies For Asylum Seekers and Children Under Temporary Protection: The Case of Children Who Are Dragged Into Crime", the reasons for these children to drag into crime, its rates and applied cohesion policies are examined from the perspective of Turkey. There have been a number of difficulties in accessing data on asylum seekers and children under temporary protection over the past years and profiles of detainee and convict children who are dragged into crime within the Ministry of Justice. This study was conducted with national and international literature review of data published by TurkStat, DGMM, NGOs. In the study conducted, it was found that the rapid increase in the number of asylum-seeking children in recent years is not the same as the increase in crime rates for foreign children. Rates of being dragged into crime are also not higher compared to the proportion of Turkish national children. However, this does not mean that children will not be subject to cheap labour for Turkey, lost generation or criminal tendencies in their future lives if their deficiencies in terms of language education, schooling, health, housing and social cohesion with the host country are not addressed. It is the reality that being an immigrant does not mean being a criminal, but that traumatic issues such as immigration can create undesired results if they are not well managed. It has been seen that the problems that arise due to international migration increasing day by day are the problems of the whole world and that it is insufficient to try to solve the problems only over immigrants. The solution of the problems arising from international migration will be possible by the participation of public institutions, private institutions, universities, host people and all international parties in the solution. Key Words: International migration, Asylum seeker, Children under temporary protection, Crime, Cohesion