Analysis of social services provided to Syrian asylum seekers and refugees: Cases of Germany and Turkey

Migration phenomena has always been a part of human social history where people moved to another places for the purposes of a better life or to seek security. Today, migration and asylum-seeking are even more significant, and have become one of the essential topics concerning the study of social work. Various risks, particularly of which concerning security, integration problems, and other challenges arising from migration necessitate development of encompassing policies regarding the migration issue. This study aims to initially present the practices of two countries which have received a significant amount of refugees within the context of social work, and then to analyze the possibilities and potential with regard to rights based approach. Firstly the theoretical frame, in line with the respective literature, has been discussed in relation to practices of social work for asylum seekers and refugees and then with regards to the practical application area, the experiences of Syrian refugees and asylum seekers in both countries has been presented. In-depth interviews are conducted with, 10 Syrians with the status of under temporary protection in Turkey, 7 Syrian refugees in Germany, 3 social work experts and 2 NGO executives in both countries, in total with 27 people. The resulting data of the interviews are analyzed under 6 sub-themes which are, refugee reception centers, post-acceptance practices, integration processes, assistances and financial situation, work life and benefit from public services. As a result of this research, it has been observed that with regards to the practices of social services for Syrians in both countries, there has been notable differences. The most important differences have become apparent following the acceptance during Syrians integration to work life. Also it has been observed that embracing the rights-based approach has improved the quality of social services provided to Syrians, and has contributed positively to their integration with the host population.