Souad Osseiran is an anthropologist examining migration and refugee issues in Turkey with a focus on Syrian refugees and their migratory experiences. She recently completed her PhD in anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. In her doctoral thesis, she explores Syrian refugees’ migration strategies to Europe and their experiences of waiting while in Istanbul. Osseiran holds an MSc in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford and the BA from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
Project: “Syrian Healthcare Professionals Integration in Turkey: Altering Formulations of Turkish Citizenship”
Around 3 million Syrian refugees are currently present in Turkey, and at least some will become Turkish citizens in the future. This project will explore Turkish government efforts to incorporate highly qualified Syrian refugee professionals with a view to its announced plan to grant citizenship to 300,000 professional Syrian refugees. In 2016 and 2017, the Turkish Ministry of Health began training Syrian healthcare professionals to integrate them at the national, provincial and local levels. Various INGOs, NGOs, and UN bodies are also involved in training Syrian healthcare professionals. These efforts aim at regularizing Syrian healthcare professionals’ labor in Turkey.
This project examines how Syrian health professionals are being incorporated into the Turkish public labor market. The research explores the effects of this integration and how it relates to the changing formulation of Turkish citizenship as a process. To answer these research questions, I will engage with Syrian healthcare professionals, Turkish bureaucrats in the respective ministries and key INGOs, NGOs, and UN bodies which were involved in these processes. Relying on interviews and participant observation, this research will offer Turkish and EU policymakers relevant insights into Turkey’s model and approach of incorporating professionals, its strengths and weakness, and the possibilities it holds to expand this model of incorporation beyond this sector.
Healthcare Access for Syrian Refugees in Istanbul: A Gender-Sensitive Perspective
2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows Gabriele Cloeters and Souad Osseiran’s report Healthcare Access for Syrian Refugees in Istanbul: A Gender-Sensitive Perspective was published in January 2019.
Click here to download the document.
Click here to download the document in Arabic.
Syrians in Turkey
2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows Souad Osseiran and Gabriele Cloeters, 2016/17 Mercator-IPC Fellows Emre Üçkardeşler, Kristen Biehl, and Wiebke Hohberger, and 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker's booklet Syrians in Turkey was published in October 2018.
Developing models for integrating refugees into society is one of the subtopics under the EU/German-Turkish relations cluster of the Mercator-IPC Fellowship Program. To this end, the “Syrians in Turkey” booklet presents a snapshot of the current situation of Syrians in Turkey and the policy responses that have been implemented since the start of their arrival. The contributing Mercator-IPC Fellows, bring the issue into focus through six policy areas: healthcare, education, labor, gender-based aspects, civil society, and social cohesion.
Click here to download the document.
Exploring Vulnerability(ies) and Resilience: Learning from Populations on the Move
The Initiative organized the workshop "Exploring Vulnerability(ies) and Resilience: Learning from Populations on the Move," also featuring a keynote speech titled "Neither Vulnerability, Nor Resilience: A Critical Approach to Exiles' Experiences" by Didier Fassin at IPC on May 5-6.
Panel Discussion on “Syrians in Turkey” & Report Launch of “The Role of Civil Society in Fostering Pluralism”
The Initiative organized a panel discussion on “Syrians in Turkey” and the report launch of “The Role of Civil Society in Fostering Pluralism” on December 21, 2018 at IPC Karaköy.
Syrians in Turkey
The booklet Syrians in Turkey authored by 2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows Souad Osseiran and Gabriele Cloeters, 2016/17 Mercator-IPC Fellows Emre Üçkardeşler, Kristen Biehl, and Wiebke Hohberger, and 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker, was launched with the moderation of IPC Senior Scholar and Research and Academic Affairs Coordinator Senem Aydın-Düzgit on Monday, October 8, 2018 at Salon IKSV.
Young Scholars and Early Career Academics Conference: Migration, Social Transformation and Differential Inclusion in Turkey
2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows Gabriele Cloeters & Souad Osseiran convened a conference titled “Migration, Social Transformation and Differential Inclusion in Turkey” on October 5-6, 2018 at SALT Galata.
The keynote speech of the conference on “Anonymous Black and Brown Bodies: The Productive Power of Europe’s Deadly Border” was given by Prof. Nicholas De Genova from the University of Houston on October 5, 2018 at IPC Karaköy.
Healthcare Access for Syrian Refugees: A Gender-Sensitive Perspective
The roundtable discussion “Healthcare Access for Syrian Refugees: A Gender-Sensitive Perspective,” convened by 2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows Souad Osseiran and Gabriele Cloeters, took place on May 4, 2018 at IPC Karaköy.
Welcoming of the 2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows
The Welcoming of the 2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows was held on October 16. The event marked the 6th cycle of the Mercator-IPC Fellowship Program, which is coordinated by the Istanbul Policy Center, Sabancı University and Stiftung Mercator Initiative.
The event began with welcoming remarks by IPC Director Fuat Keyman, followed by remarks from the Chairman of the Advisory Board at Stiftung Mercator, Rüdiger Frohn. The welcoming remarks were followed by a movie screening which introduced the 2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows Gabriele Cloeters, Souad Osseiran, Simon Waldman, Banu Karaca, Pınar Ertör Akyazı and Barış Karapınar.