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Syrian-Kurdish Refugees peasants in Turkey

A Syrian girl during a food distribution. Torbali, Turkey. March 216. In the discrict of Izmir, in the western part of Turkey, live thousands of Syrian-Kurdish refugeesin extremely hard conditions. They collect fruits and vegetables for 10/12 hours a day for 30/40 TL (15$). They usually pay a monthly rent to the land owner for the space where they build their tents. The money they get for their work is enough just to survive. Their dream is to go back in Syria and rebuild their life there. The link between forced migrations and labour exploitation is nothing new: people who are forced to leave their land because of imminent danger are often willing to do anything in order to earn the bare minimum to provide for their families. This is especially the case when the host country does not guarantee legal forms of protection or if the few that are available do not provide effective forms of participation and engagement within the labour force for adults and the school system for the children. Obtaining a work permit in Turkey is a long and laborious process, and is considered an impossible task by most Syrians. The uncertainty caused by this jungle of bureaucracy suffocates hundreds of thousands of families who are forced to give in and accept occasional work in the informal sector, underpaid and under intolerable conditions so that they may receive a minimum income to cover their basic living costs. (Photo by Valerio Muscella/NurPhoto)

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