Türkiye: Life Conditions of Seasonal Agricultural Workers: Tarsus Field Research

ReliefWeb: Updates by Country 08.11.2022 14:00 Countries: Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye Source: Turkish Red Crescent Society Please refer to the attached files. MAIN ISSUES The number of Syrians under temporary protection who took refuge in Turkey due to the civil war that started in Syria in 2011 and started a new life with a new status here has reached 3,635,410 people. According to the December 2020 data of the General Directorate of Migration Management, 472,982 of these people reside in the Çukurova Region, which includes the provinces of Adana and Mersin, where agricultural production is common.1 Seasonal agricultural work gained a new dimension with the arrival of Syrians, who were employed at lower wages than the local people, in the Çukurova Region, where previously workers from the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions of the country were employed in seasonal agricultural production. Therefore, identifying the needs, problems and expectations specific to Syrians under temporary protection who come from a different social and cultural background has gained importance in terms of contributing to making it possible to live in dignity, to ensure regional development and social adaptation. This study was designed starting from this context and aimed to determine the current situation in the field and the difficulties encountered, and to establish a fulcrum for the solution of the problems. The main problems identified and descriptions of the field are summarized below: General Conditions When asked to meet with the shelter shelter tent residents, the majority used expressions such as “There were many people like you who came here before, but nothing has changed”. This can be considered as an indicator of boredom about the research carried out. The use of translators, visiting the shelter tents during the day while the men are at work , easier access to the participants thanks to the recognition of the Red Crescent, and the participant’s trust in the researcher were very effective in the course of the research. People living in the shelter tent area lead a closed life with minimal interaction with their environment. The only points of contact are shopping and mukhtars. Majority of the participants procure their basic foodstuffs and clothing from peddlers who come through hodge heads . The hodge head can be thought of as their representatives opening up to the outside world. On certain days of the month, they create certain stocks that will last for a while by shopping at the fruit-vegetable market in district or provincial centers. In one of the villages, the interaction between the participants and the mukhtar is positive. It has been learned that the mukhtars fulfill their duties in the access of the participants to services such as electricity and water or in the delivery of aid sent to the villages. In the other village, it was stated that there were occasional conflicts between the mukhtar and seasonal agricultural workers. Fixed fees, which vary according to the shelter tent areas, are paid to the hodge heads, regardless of who uses basic infrastructure services such as electricity and water. Since they do not receive their daily wages regularly, they generally do their shopping on credit method to meet all their needs. It has been learned that in some villages, they do their shopping with the receipts given by the hodge heads, and on the day of the daily wages, the cost of the receipts they use is deducted from their daily wages. They continue their lives in interaction with the city, albeit limited. Participants who spend their time in the shelter tent area or in the field in their daily lives only go to the city for reasons such as shopping and going to the hospital. This limited interaction with the city also differs on the basis of gender. Women leave shelter tent areas much less frequently than men. The group they interact with the most on a weekly basis is peddlers. The peddlers enable them to find many of their needs nearby. In very few of the shelter tents, household items such as white goods or armchairs and sofas were found, and it was observed that these items were generally old and worn out. Shelter tents, which usually contain mattresses and pillows, are also affected by seasonal changes, making the lives of individuals even more difficult. A male participant, who was a classroom teacher when he was in Syria, poured concrete on the ground so that his shelter tent would not be affected by rainwater), and the irregular appearance of the shelter tents built on the ground turns into an unhealthy state when the presence of many insects such as flies and insects is taken into account. It was learned that the participant, who was a classroom teacher in Syria, had a serious struggle for the education of children, but this struggle was not supported as much as it was in the first time by other shelter tent residents who prioritized earning money due to difficult living conditions. In addition, it was seen that this person led the seasonal agricultural workers in this region in the relationship with the mukhtar or in the solution of any problem. The workers find the wages they receive very little according to the work they do, and besides this, the daily wages are given as pocket money in pieces or collectively every 6-7 months. This causes people to meet their needs by borrowing. Seasonal agricultural workers live in shelter tents as nuclear families. It has been seen that many of their extended families stay in Syria and that they live here with their spouses and children. Almost all workers declared that they also work in agriculture in Syria, but they stay in houses, not in shelter tents. The biggest challenge facing the majority is their poor quality of life, due to the lack of money they earn. It has been stated that it is very difficult to issue a new identity card when identity card is lost and cannot benefit from services such as health due to lack of identity card. It has been observed that the clothes of the workers are quite inadequate and not suitable for seasonal conditions. It has been observed that young children are deprived of stimuli that will positively affect their physical and psychological development in these unhealthy living spaces, and some of the children go to the fields and some of them undertake housework.

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