Processes and Factors of Social Exclusion in Arrival Cities: Attitudes towards Syrians under Temporary Protection in Tarlabaşı, Istanbul

There have been fierce discussions on the causes of global mobility/migration and its effects on national security and belonging as well as struggles that migrants’ have had to face in arrival countries, while little has been said about how residents of arrival cities have been reacted to the effects of global mobility. Lacking of studies that evaluate the migration issue from the side of receiver societies seems result in one-sided policies that put the pressure on migrants in addressing ever-increasing discrimination and exclusion practices cities. The aim of this paper is to look from “the eyes of receiver societies” to determine existing / potential struggles that result in social exclusion practices at local level, where all social tensions become observable. To provide evidence, 40 semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2016 in Tarlabaşı Istanbul (a metropolitan urban area that has received considerable amount of Syrian immigrants since 2011). The main argument is, regardless of ethnic, cultural and religious similarities and discourses of brotherhood; Syrian immigrants are more likely to be excluded in the long term as their duration of stay increases and as they engage urban economy (labor market, redistribution mechanisms), network relations and everyday lives of native residents.