Abstract
This thesis examines the questions of how life aspirations of Syrian refugees in the
Netherlands change over time and the role social networks play within this process through applying the aspirations and capabilities framework to forced migration. Relying on findings of a qualitative study and fourteen semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in the Netherlands in 2020, this thesis observed three major changes in life aspirations of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands caused by transformations in the context of migration, migration possibilities and so-called fate moments. While living in Syria, education and a diploma were considered the most crucial mechanism for people to have a “good life”. Once outside Syria, the aspiration to study remains important, but the country in which people want to study and work has changed. Furthermore, the closer to the moment of flight, the more safety
aspirations were present. Educational aspirations were briefly relinquished because people were actively seeking for safety. Moreover, Turkey appears to be a central geographic context in which aspirations change as freedom aspirations develop due to discrimination, and the meaning of safety changed. Concerning the role social networks play in the process of changing life aspirations a distinction is made between strong ties and weak ties. This research indicates that strong ties make a more significant contribution to social facilitation and social support in migration processes, while weak ties form a more substantial part of the information effect and influence aspirations rather than migration processes
Preface
I wrote this thesis as part of the master Sociology at the University of Amsterdam. The excellent structure of the master, the skills of the teachers and the new insights into migration theories that I have gained, have considerably strengthened my interest in migration
processes. That is why I came to the subject of this thesis and enjoyed going through the process from start to finish. Because of my second master's degree, Middle Eastern studies at the University of Amsterdam, I had specific knowledge that helped me during this thesis, especially about the Syrian civil war, and the position of the Kurds in Turkey and Syria.
With incredible pleasure, I worked towards this thesis last year, for which I would like to thank the master program and my teachers. I want to express my gratitude in particular to Monique Kremer, who supported and guided me in writing this thesis. Her critical view has kept me sharp during the process and forced me to improve my thesis by adopting a more critical perspective. Through Monique’s involvement, I learned a lot from this research and gained better insights into the subject. I am grateful to Lea Muller-Funk for exchanging her thoughts on the topic of this thesis and providing helpful tips and tricks in researching this topic, and my second reader, Debby Gerritsen, for providing feedback on my thesis proposal.
My special thanks go to all of those who participated in this thesis and those who provided feedback on the final version of my thesis. I want to thank my respondents very much for their time, effort and openness. I experienced the interviews as incredibly positive thanks to the cooperation of my respondents. Because of the peer reviews, I have received; this thesis has been taken to a higher level for which I am excessively grateful to my peers. Lastly, I want to thank my parents, sister, boyfriend and close friends for supporting me during the past months.
I hope that you will experience a lot of joy in reading this thesis. Ruth Timmermans – July 2020
Table of contents
1. Introduction ... Fout! Bladwijzer niet gedefinieerd.
2. Background: Syrian context ... 7
3. Theoretical framework ... 10 3.1 Forced migrants ... 10 3.2 Aspirations ... 12 3.3 Social networks ... 16 4. Methodology and Research design ... 18
4.1 Methodology and research design ... 18
4.2 Data collection ... 19
4.3 Data analysis ... 21
4.4 COVID-19 ... 21
5. Changing aspirations of Syrian forced migrants ... 22
5.1 Stage one: Syria ... 22
5.2 Stage two: journey ... 25
5.3 Stage three: the Netherlands ... 33
6. The influence of social networks on migration- and life aspirations ... 34
6.1 Strong ties ... 35 6.2 Weak ties ... 38 7. Conclusion ... 40 8. Discussion ... 42 9. Bibliography ... 44 10. Appendix ... 52
1. Introduction
“How am I able to live comfortably in Syria at the moment? My safety was the main reason I fled the war, but I also wanted to do something. I didn’t know where to go when I left Syria. I had been thinking of going to Dubai or Germany; I wasn’t only thinking about Europe. Anywhere in the world was an option”.1
Zayn, a 26-year old environmental engineering student from Homs, explained to me why the unsafe situation in Syria forced him to flee the country. Although, despite this, after reviewing several destinations, he was still in doubt as to where he would go. Ultimately, Zayn chose the Netherlands because the Netherlands best met his life aspirations after fleeing the Syrian civil war.
Zayn's decision to migrate to the Netherlands illustrates the process many Syrian refugees in the Netherlands have gone through. This process involves the extremely conscious and deliberate choice of destination, which often already starts in Syria. Since the Syrian civil war started in 2011, many Syrians have fled their country and ended up in different places around the world. Currently, the 12,9 million Syrian refugees, internationally as well as internally displaced, make up a large part of the total number of 79,5 million refugees worldwide. Accordingly, the forced displacement of Syrians constitutes most of today’s migration debates (UNHCR, 2019).
Whilst research about aspirations is profoundly developed in the field of voluntary migration, there is a lack of research regarding the relationship between aspirations and forced migration (Bastianon, 2018; Hoffman et al., 2015; Muller-Funk, 2019). Migration scholars often overlook the role of agency in forced migration and put forced migrants into a framework of not being able to choose and aspire, partly due to limited capabilities (Agyemang and Lehman, 2013).
In recent years, a few studies have been produced on the topic of aspirations of refugees. For example, Lea Muller-Funk and Sonja Fransen (2020) studied return aspirations of Syrian refugees in Turkey and Lebanon, Kvittingen et al. (2019) studied migratory
aspirations of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan, and Anja van Heelsum (2016) compared migratory aspirations of Syrian and Ethiopian refugees in the Netherlands. While these studies observed valuable insights, in which even some changes of aspirations are discussed,
1 Hoe kan ik mijn leven voortzetten als ik daar nog ben? Ik ben gevlucht vanwege de oorlog om veilig te zijn, maar natuurlijk had ik aspiraties. Ik wilde iets doen. Niet alleen de oorlog ontvluchten, maar echt iets bereiken. Ik wist niet waar ik heen moest. Ik dacht niet alleen aan Europa. Het kon overal in de wereld zijn.
they do not take into account (changing) life aspirations over a longer period. These studies mainly focus on migratory and mobility aspirations in a specific context, while studies about educational or life aspirations neglected the changing aspect of these aspirations (Schneider, 2018; Hebbani and Khawaja, 2018; Tihabano and Schweitzer, 2007). In their study, Muller-Funk and Fransen (2020) illustrate how the majority of their respondents did not want to go to Europe but instead considered settling in Turkey. By the way of contrast, this thesis focuses on Syrian refugees that were inclined towards settling in Europe, and in particular the Netherlands, rather than making a staying in Turkey permanently.
Investigating changing life aspirations is essential because of the variation in context and social environment of refugees’ mobility patterns (Ibrahim, 2011). Changes in life aspirations over time have not been studied well enough as research mainly focus on migratory aspirations in a particular context. Aspirations can also change within a certain context, but changes over a longer period in which the context is fluid have been studied considerably less extensively. During their flight, refugees remain in different geographical contexts and are surrounded by different individuals. These experiences influence refugees’ vision of the future (Ibrahim, 2011).
Therefore, this study aims to gain a better understanding of changing life aspirations of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands. Aside from analysing how life aspirations of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands have changed over time, I furthermore explain the role of social networks within this process. Hence, the following two research questions are proposed:
1. How did life aspirations of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands change over time? 2. Which role did social networks play within this process?
This thesis draws on a qualitative study conducted in the Netherlands. Fourteen semi-structured in-depth interviews with Syrian refugees in the Netherlands were conducted, in which they were questioned about their former life in Syria, their decisions during their journey from Syria to Europe, their future plans and the importance of their social network. As a result of this, this study yields several shifts in the aspirations of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands over time. The results will be presented on the basis of three stages, respectively (1) Syria, (2) during their journey and (3) the Netherlands. Different stages in context and time provide a chronological overview of, and therefore clear insights in, how aspirations may change and what underlies this. In using the aspirations and capabilities approach of de Haas
(2014) and Carling (2014), this thesis sheds light on Syrian refugees’ motives and their hope for the future. It emerges that geographical context; experiences and social networks
contribute to changing aspirations.
The following chapter describes the Syrian context of the past ten years, outlining the incentives for many Syrians to seek refuge. Subsequently, I introduce the theory that forms the main framework of this thesis. This part is divided into three sections, namely forced migration, aspirations and social networks. The fourth chapter discusses the methodological part with a special section devoted to COVID-19, which unexpectedly came into play whilst researching this thesis. Finally, the two last remaining chapters present my findings and conclusions.
2. Background
This chapter explores the context in which Syrian refugees lived in Syria before and during the war, and the context in which they manoeuvred from Syria to the Netherlands. Besides, this chapter provides a clear and detailed overview of the migration flow from Syria in recent years.
In the past 10 years, news worldwide has often been dominated by the Arab Spring and in particular the civil war in Syria. In 2011, the uprising, known as the Arab Spring, spilled over from Tunisia to other countries in North Africa and the Middle East. The uprising that was primarily intended for better economic conditions and to expel authoritarian regimes resulted in a civil war in Syria (Bhardwaj, 2012; Lynch et al., 2014).
The Syrian uprising arose from multiple causes since Bashar al-Assad was in power. When Bashar al-Assad assumed power after his father’s dead in July 2000 Syrian people were optimistic about a young president with exposure to western education who emphasised his determination to modernise Syria. He implemented a system that was stable but led to difficulties as well. It soon became apparent that Assad tried to concentrate power into his presidency. He used his power to force the older generation in his regime to retire, inserted his followers in military and security forces (Hinnebusch, 2012). Economic reforms led to
dissatisfaction among a part of the population because of the cut of subsidies to the poorest Syrians and the alienation of Sunni Arab workers. Another reason for their frustration had to do with the fact that Syria was affected by the most intense drought ever recorded in the region from 2007 until 2010. Next to that, the baby boom from the 1980s led to many young people who had to look for a job once they got older. Because of Assad’s reformations the economy of Syria could not accommodate them (Ginesina, 2019; Phillips, 2012).
In 2011, the Arab spring flew from Tunisia and Libya, among others, to Syria. In the city of Dera’a, on Syria’s southern border with Jordan, the first clashes between protestors and security forces in mid-March took place and provoked nationwide unrest. The regime decided to use force in an effort to contain the demonstrators. The regime was taken by surprise on March 25 when protests with a great number of protesters emerged on a large scale. Just one week after the first uprisings in Dera’a, the protests spread to six of twelve provincial capitals (Holliday, 2011). The most important demand of the Syrian protestors concerns a change of the regime from authoritarian to democratic, not just in the constitution but also in practice. By the end of 2011, the uprisings develop into a civil war with the creation of many armed groups (Kizilkaya, 2017).
The atrocious political and economical circumstances in Syria paved the way for the expansion of ISIS. By 2014, ISIS named itself the Islamic State and formed a Caliphate in the areas it conquered in Iraq and Syria. From that moment, the lives of Syrian citizens changed drastically. IS carried out ethnic cleansing on a historical scale and their actions are
recognised as systematic murder and genocide because of the persecution of religious minorities (Shamieh and Zoltan, 2015).
The war in Syria has now lasted 9 years and has a major impact on the health, safety and economic conditions of the Syrian people. The conflicts, the civil war and violence led to a mass migration on a national and international scale since many fled to different nations or even to Europe. More than half of the population has fled. At the end of 2018 UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) published a report, which stated that 6,7 million Syrians were forcedly displaced. Besides the 6,7 million Syrian refugees outside Syria, 6,2 million Syrians are internally displaced (UNHCR, 2018). 95% of the externally displaced Syrians is hosted in neighbouring countries, such as Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Most Syrian refugees are hosted in Turkey (3,6 million), and Lebanon (1,5 million). Most Syrian refugees flee to neighbouring countries, despite the fact that these countries are sometimes in a politically and economically fragile state or at war with the origin country. Therefore, forced migrants in fragile and authoritarian neighbouring countries are legally vulnerable and face discrimination (Muller-Funk, 2019).
The minority of externally displaced Syrians are hosted in Europe, approximately 1 million (UNHCR, 2020). Especially 2015 is known for its so-called ‘refugee crisis’ as more and more Syrians tried to reach Europe. In September 2015, there were already 487,000 refugees who arrived in Europe, which is twice the amount of refugees registered in 2014 (Holmes and Castaneda, 2016). Many refugees took the boat from Turkey to set foot on
Greek, and therefore European, soil. These boat trips have cost an incredible amount of
human lives (Yazgan, 2015). Most Syrian refugees in Europe migrated to Germany (593.025), followed by Sweden (120.855), Hungary (78.245), Austria (55.550) and the Netherlands (39.510). With regard to the number of square meters per country, the number of refugees has the largest impact in the Netherlands. The image below shows the number of Syrian refugees per country. This demonstrates that the countries in the region absorb the most Syrian
refugees.
Figure 1: The number of Syrian refugees housed per country (BBC, 2019)
As shown in the image above, the refugee population is the largest in Turkey. Therefore, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan tries to decrease this amount of Syrian refugees through sending them to a ‘safe zone’ in the north of Syria. According to many politicians, journalists and scientists Turkey is playing a political game to thwart the development of a Kurdish region in the North of Syria (Simsek and Jongerden, 2018; Kaya and Lowe, 2017; Halhalli, 2015; Federici, 2015). The Kurds fought a lot during the civil war, recaptured northern Syria from ISIS, and developed Kurdish power in the North of Syria. Erdogan initiated a so-called ‘safe zone’ in the North of Syria for Arabic-Syrian refugees in Turkey to weaken Kurdish power (Simsek and Jongerden, 2018).
The Kurds have experienced opposition and oppression throughout their existence. The Kurds contain the largest stateless population around the world. Most Kurds live in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran and confront much oppression in terms of violence, denying of their existence, language bans and no freedom of expression by governments and citizens of Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran (Leezenberg, 2016). This reflects the difficult situation in which Kurds find themselves in the above countries.
3. Theoretical framework: aspirations and capabilities in the context of forced displacement
This chapter is divided into three sections. The first section provides several scholarly insights into the concept of ‘forced’ migration. The second section contains a more in-depth
understanding of aspirations within the aspiration and capability framework of de Haas (2014) and Carling (2014). The third section provides an explanation of strong ties and weak ties of social networks within migration processes. The aspiration and capability framework will be applied to forced migration in helping examine this study’s findings in a broader academic context, which contributes to questioning the concept of forced migration and overcoming the gap between forced migration and aspirations.
3.1 Forced migrants
In applying the aspirations and capabilities framework on forced migration, this section entails the influence of the framework on human mobility. It will be explained from the concepts of structure and agency before explaining the disputability about the concept of forced migration.
Migration is of all times and all places and caused by complex sets of factors and interactions. Research on migration shows that many theories explain drivers and effects of migration differently, which makes it a versatile concept (Sassen, 2000; de Haan, 2002). Functionalists’ theories, such as push and pull and neo-classical, and historical-structural theories, such as dependency and labour market, consider migrants as rational actors who react to oppressive global forces and make decisions in a structured way (Lee, 1966; Sassen, 2000, Castles at al., 2014; Levitt and Jaworsky, 2007). Besides, migration is often described from a dichotomy of forced and voluntary migration (Disbudak and Purkis, 2014). De Haas (2014) proposes the aspirations and capability framework to help overcome this dichotomy, and the perception of migrants as rational actors, since this framework conceptualises all
forms of migration. This section describes the concept of forced migration from the de Haas’ (2014) framework.
The aspiration and capability framework offers new insights into how to deal with migration processes. De Haas (2011) states that ‘…all scholarly insights on migration can be integrated into one framework that conceptualises migration as a function of capabilities and aspirations’ (de Haas, 2011). This framework is exceptionally useful in describing refugees’ mobility because it considers refugees as active actors instead of passive pawns.
Human mobility, forced as well as voluntary, is influenced by structure and agency. Agency is defined as ‘people’s ability and power to choose, adapt and behave in a manner that may alter the structure’ (de Haas, 2014). Migrants are able to make choices within a range of structures. Structures are defined as ‘patterns of relations, beliefs and behaviour’ (de Haas, 2014). Many factors, such as social class, gender, governments, and ethnicity, enrich or limit the number of options. The pattern of structure and agency is perceived as a continuum from few to many limitations in which migration appears. Individuals enact agency to make their choices except for literally forced mobility such as deportation and slavery (de Haas, 2014). Moreover, refugees may affect the structure, for example, by using smugglers.
Because of agency faced by (almost) all migrants, even refugees, the term forced migration is a bit controversial.
Research on migration distinct forced and voluntary migration of each other, in which forced migration is defined as ‘the movements of refugees and internally displaced people as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects’ (Carling and Collins, 2018). However, categories such as ‘forced’ and ‘voluntary’ migration are questioned, as well as the argument to what extent refugees belong to forced migrants as choices and constraints affect all forms of migration (van Hear, 2010). Similar to non-forced migrants, forced migrants are able to make decisions, even though they have fewer options to choose from, and their migration is driven by other factors.
Most studies on forced displacement point out war, conflict and violence as key drivers of migration, while other dimensions and their interactions affect migration processes as well (Muller-Funk, 2019). Aside from conflict and violence, the political economy of the conflict, the type of the journey, and even economic opportunities in the country of origin could stimulate migration. While some studies are convinced of the impact of economic opportunities in forced displacement, others observe that relatively higher economic developed countries create fewer refugees (Muller-Funk, 2019).
A strict line between ‘forced’ and ‘voluntary’ hinders empirical research and
underestimates certain significant factors, such as aspirations and capabilities (Bivant Erdal and Oeppen, 2018). Is voluntary migration understood as migrants who migrate against their willingness but do so in view of the long-term economic situation? Moreover, is it by
definition forced migration if a migrant moves for violence? As mentioned before, people should be able to facilitate their relocation, so those who are not capable of moving will not migrate, but stay located in the same situation. To what extent could we call it forced migration if not everyone in the same situation migrates? The extremely poor and most vulnerable groups will not have the option to flee and are obliged to stay while the relatively poor move over short distances (de Haas, 2014).
Furthermore, people’s capability is not only related to the financial situation but also, for example, to someone's gender (Kofman et al., 2000). Van Liempt (2011) discusses several examples of the impact of gender on human mobility. Connotations of ‘safe’ and ‘dangerous’ differ per geographical context but could even differ in gender, as men and women face different risks. According to van Liempt (2011), gender perceptions can be disadvantageous for women, but they can also be beneficial in migration processes. On the one hand, women travelling alone could be considered as a target. On the other hand, women travelling alone can be considered as vulnerable, and therefore, people could offer them help (Freedman, 2016). Smugglers, on the other side, could be less helpful as they sometimes refuse women, because they believe women might delay the group. According to van Liempt (2011), in migration processes men are more likely to be the ones who take risks and sneak across borders.
In sum, ‘forced’ migration is a controversial concept as mobility not only depends on the drivers of migration, but also on an individual his aspirations and capabilities. Capabilities determine the degree of agency a migrant has to pursue his aspirations, and structures
determine to what extent a migrant can use his capabilities in his mobility patterns.
3.2 Aspirations
This section provides an insight in underlying mechanisms of aspirations and explains how aspirations are formed and expressed. Thereafter, three effects of the interaction between aspirations and capabilities on migration will be explained.
The aspiration and capability framework, developed by de Haas (2014) and Carling (2014), tries to explain migration processes on a micro-level. This framework serves to understand how social development corresponds with the increase and decrease of migration.
Aspirations are understood as ‘people’s capability (freedom) to choose where to live, including the option to stay’ (de Haas, 2014) and ‘the future perspective to realise a satisfactory life’ (Carling and Collins, 2018). The underlying thought of the aspiration and capability framework is how the interaction between these concepts affects migration. The aspiration and capability model distinguishes between those who aspire to on-migrate or return and those who do not (de Haas, 2014). Aspirations and capabilities determine people’s mobility, which depend on preferences, perceptions of life, and people’s opportunities to move.
Aspirations influence migration patterns directly or indirectly and are deeply
embedded in an individual’s life and future perspective. They are socially embedded because aspirations are formed through interaction, people’s experiences, desires and perceptions of the ‘good life’ (Ibrahim, 2011). Aspirations are multidimensional as multiple interpretations and perceptions of aspirations exist based on culture, education, identification and
information influence aspirations (de Haas, 2014).
In response to the explanation of how aspirations are formed by de Haas (2014) and Ibrahim (2011), Hart (2016) describes how aspirations are expressed. Accordingly,
aspirations concern hopes, ambitions and goals, indicate optimism for the future and pessimism about the present, may represent unreachable yearnings, and are, therefore, grounded in rationality as well as emotion (Hart, 2016). The imagination of the future arises from past experiences but current problems inspire aspirations as well. Aspirations are dynamic and differ in importance and timescale. Even, some aspirations will emerge
gradually while other aspirations suddenly appear. These characteristics imply that aspirations can be subject to constant change.
Bakewell (2008) and Carling (2014) link the concepts of aspirations and migration to describe mutual influences. An important observation, according to Bakewell (2008), is that ‘people do not aspire to migrate, but they aspire to something which migration might help them achieve’. Therefore, the relationship between aspirations and migration is two-dimensional: a migrants’ connection to migration options, and a migrants’ connection to possible transformations in migration patterns, which contains the belief that staying is less beneficial than leaving (Carling and Collins, 2018). A migrants’ connection to migration options is related to the relationship between aspirations and capabilities because people’s capabilities determine their migration options. Accordingly, human mobility depends on aspirations and capabilities, and, therefore, on people’s preferences and perceptions of life and people’s opportunities to move. In line with this framework, Carling (2014) describes
three classifications of movements: mobility (having both the aspiration and ability to migrate), involuntary immobility (people who aspire to migrate but are not able to migrate) and voluntary immobility (being able to migrate but not aspiring it).
Figure 2: The mobility options of the aspirations-capability framework (Schewel, 2019)
This image shows the mobility options of the aspiration-capability framework. Several effects of this interaction between aspirations and capabilities are demonstrated in the image and will be explained more deeply in the following paragraphs of this section.
Firstly, the capacity to aspire, explains how migrants imagine the future from an economic and cultural points of view, which is a complex issue because individuals’ social context may curb aspirations (Ballet et al., 2018). Aspirations do not only arise from people’s preferences and desires but are also shaped by peoples’ economic and cultural capital
(Baillergeau and Duyvendak, 2019). Baillergeau and Duyvendak (2019) define the capacity to aspire as ‘the ability of individuals to generate an idea/picture of a desirable future for themselves and to commit to its realisation – and on the conditions under which it develops’. As Appadurai (2007) determines, everyone has aspirations, but circumstances can improve or worsen the capacity to achieve aspirations. The achievement of aspirations intensely depends on being capable to overcome obstacles. This means that the higher the obstacles, the harder to fulfil aspirations (Carling, 2014). Therefore, the capacity to aspire concerns having
aspirations that are achievable within the capacity of an individual as capabilities determine the extent to which desired social and personal goals could be achieved (Nussbaum, 2016).
Secondly, Ray (2006) describes aspirations as ‘the social grounding of individual desire’ that exists of personal, collective and normative measures. The social grounding of aspirations, including social contexts of potential migrants, greatly influences aspirations. Because of the normative dimension of the social ground, migration becomes part of the so-called ‘aspirations window’. The aspirations window contains interplay between aspirations and capabilities, in which the social environment determines how people build their
aspirations. This implies that individuals’ aspirations develop through the lives, achievements and ideals within the framework of an individuals’ window (Ray, 2002). As opposed to the capacity to aspire of Baillergeau and Duyvendak (2019), an aspiration gap arises when aspirations do not meet the capabilities of a person. People may abandon their aspirations when this gap is too broad, and when people do not have aspirations or low aspirations, it is explained as aspirations failure (Ballet et al., 2018).
Thirdly, aspirations could change through capabilities. Improving capabilities may lead to changing aspirations (de Haas, 2014). As de Haas (2014) argues, based on his research in Morocco, improved living conditions led to increasing life aspirations. Improved education, increased media publicity, contact with pioneer migrants and noticing relative wealth of others contribute to expeditiously growing goods and changing aspirations.
Capacity to aspire Capabilities >; = Aspirations
Aspirations gap Capabilities < Aspirations
Changing aspirations Capabilities ↑ ! Aspirations ↑
Table 1: Three effects of interactions between aspirations and capabilities
Accordingly, migration can be a tool to achieve aspirations. The success of migration as a tool to achieve aspirations depends on what someone aspires and someone's capabilities. The table above shows three previously explained interactions between aspirations and capabilities that determine the extent to which migration is a potential tool for achieving aspirations. The capacity to aspire has sufficient capacity to migrate in order to fulfil
aspirations, while the aspirations gap shows that an individual has a lack of ability to meet his aspirations. Finally, changing aspirations explained by de Haas (2014) present the
development of aspirations through developing capabilities. Therefore, it can be concluded that migration aspirations and life aspirations are intertwined processes.
3.3 Social networks
This section discusses the role of social networks in migration processes through exploring the existing of ties and the content of ties as well. After describing the existing of ties, its temporality and contextuality will be discussed to give insights into dynamic processes of social networks. Thereafter, the impact of strong and weak ties on migration will be explained.
Social interactions with acquaintances as well as strangers, and social networks, affect migration decisions strongly as migrants build new networks in new areas and constantly negotiate existing ties (Ryan and D’Angelo, 2017). Bourdieu describes social networks as a part of social capital (Van Hear, 2010). Social capital relates to interactions among
individuals, which creates trustworthiness, offers opportunities and assists the progress of collective action (Hotchkiss and Rupasingha, 2018; Paerregaard, 2018). Migrant social networks provide access to networks and experiences for people who are socially connected through friendship, kinship or shared communities to current or former migrants. These migrant social networks, therefore, influence and possibly increase the likelihood migrants will migrate to (Massey et al., 2001).
As Massey et al. (2001) states, people who are related to migrants are more likely to migrate. For migrants, the most important of their network is the creation of possibilities, which influences movements to certain countries positively. Besides, the more extensive the social network in the area of destination, the more relevant information will be provided and be considered as reliable (Haug, 2008). Therefore, social networks entail relationships between individuals that concern structures and patterns of networks, which affect behaviour and social identities (Ryan et al., 2014).
Ryan et al. (2014) describes the temporality and contextuality as important
characteristics of social networks. According to Ryan et al. (2014) social networks change over time and people switch of interactions and networks. In addition to meeting new people, existing networks and ties also change. Existing ties change because ties are not fixed entities but transform through resources involved in a network. These resources, such as feelings, relationships and dependencies determine the meaning given to a tie by an individual. Social networks and meanings of ties change because these resources are fluid. Therefore, social networks of migrants influence and are influenced by social dynamics in countries of origin, transit and destination (Ryan and D’Angelo, 2017).
Granovetter (1983) makes a distinction between strong ties and weak ties within social interactions. The duration of the relationship determines the strength of ties; the sentimental
depth; affection and the mutual services within the tie (Dalgas, 2016). Strong ties are close kinships and other relations based on mutuality, while weak ties connect various types of networks and link people from different social environments. So, strong ties involve trust and obligation (Tian and Lin, 2016), while weak ties involve relationships between people who are less likely to be socially involved with each other (Granovetter, 1983). The strength of strong ties entails the interconnection through a variety of pathways, but its limited reach is disadvantageous. On the contrary, the strength of weak ties is its reach to different groups and classes (Paerregaard, 2018). Due to the wide range of weak ties outside the existing network, Granovetter (2014) argues that weak ties are more successful in, among other things, finding a job for migrants. Therefore, it is expected that migrants move to areas where they have their connections, strong ties, as well as weak ties. Admittedly, strong and weak ties play different roles in encouraging migration (Giullieti et al., 2014).
Two people involved in an interaction could have three different patterns: individuals have migrated, one of the individuals has migrated, or both individuals have not migrated (Giullieti et al., 2014). These social networks can ease migration in different ways because social migrant networks have multiple effects on migration decisions (Haug, 2008).
According to Giullieti et al. (2014), migrant networks provide information about the
migration process itself to reduce risks, the country of destination and integration after arrival, and help to reduce the costs of migrating. Blumenstock et al. (2019) add, that networks also offer social support and, therefore, function as a safety net.
Haug (2008) and Garip and Asad (2016) explain transmitting information about
migration processes and the destination country from pioneer migrants to potential migrants is as respectively the information effect and social facilitation. Several studies describe social facilitation as the most critical network effect on migration, which supports advice and information (Garip, 2008; Cooke and Shuttleworth, 2017). Social facilitation implements network peers who provide effective information or help in order to reducing potential costs or increasing expected benefits. The information effect is reflected in, for example, prior migrants recommending a smuggler or prior migrants explaining the education system in a destination country (Drever and Hoffmeister, 2008).
According to Giullieti et al. (2014), strong and weak ties differ even to the extent of which information is provided. On the one hand, strong ties, such as close friends and relatives, have a more substantial effect than weak ties because of the close connection and the trust that is involved (Garip, 2008). Strong ties provide more detailed information about jobs, education and living conditions at a destination county (Giullieti et al., 2014). On the
other hand, weak ties can provide more new information because information of less intensive relationships is less utilised (Blumenstock et al., 2019). Due to the more substantial effect of strong ties, migrants may be more likely to listen to their strong ties when it comes to a particular destination or choices to make along the way. Nevertheless, weak ties can bring migrants to new ideas after providing new information.
Social support contains the impact of social networks and is defined as supportive behaviours, which is available when needed and includes instrumental support (food, money, shelter), and emotional support (listening behaviour and encouragement) (Hynie et al., 2011; Torres and Casey, 2017). Network friends or relatives may disagree on specific behaviour or decisions with as a result that some migrants will resist or persevere their behaviour or
decision, so network peers encourage or discourage specific actions. This mechanism forms a relative supporting effect of supporters and opponents of the decisions. The impact of the effects depends on the density of the ties. Strong ties will have a stronger ability to
accomplish change if they want to because strong ties are more likely to offer help financially and encourage migration directly which is more intense due to individuals being more likely to listen to their family in contrast to, for example, an acquaintance (Garip and Asad, 2016).
To conclude, both strong and weak ties can be important in migration processes as they have different strengths and weaknesses. Both ties are characterised by temporality and the context through which they have a different impact on an individual with regard to migration decisions and aspirations.
4. Methodology
The methodology chapter explains how this thesis came about, what research strategy is used, how the data was collected and why certain decisions were made. In addition, this chapter devotes a separate section to the COVID-19 pandemic. These subjects are important to discuss as it determines how valid, reliable and valuable the thesis is.
4.1 Method and research techniques
This thesis is based on a qualitative method to analyse changing aspirations of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands and the role of social networks within this process. The focus of this thesis was on what an individual’s life was like in Syria, why and how an individual fled,
perceptions of migration and personal (migration) aspirations, imaginations of life in Europe and intentions to stay in the Netherlands. Using a qualitative method was fundamental, since it offers deepening and explanation, which is what is needed from the participants. The
aspirations and capability framework of de Haas (2014) provided a clear foundation from which the research question of this thesis has been attempted to answer, which makes this a deductive study.
I have used semi-structured in-depth interviews to get an understanding of refugees’ life history, perceptions of migration and aspirations. An in-depth interview is a flexible strategy, which offers options to deviate from the initial question to provide new and surprising insights. The research is approached from interpretivist epistemology. The interpretation of the researcher and social actors therefore contributes to what is assumed to be reality in this research (Bryman, 2012).
4.2 Data collection
For this thesis I conducted 14 interviews with Syrian refugees. The interviews lasted
approximately one hour and the data was collected from mid-April until June 2020. Appendix 2 concerns the topic list used for the interviews. The interviews were mostly conducted in Dutch and once in English. Therefore, all respondents had at least a Dutch or English level of B1.2 Respondents needed to have a language level of B1 to avoid misunderstandings and to prevent a lack of ability to express themselves well enough.
This thesis aimed to interview respondents with different characteristics to discover possible differences. Hence, this thesis represents a 40/60-gender quota (female/male). The required age for respondents was between 20-42 as this cohort is most exposed to migration (Muller-Funk, 2019).3 Of all respondents 10 people are highly educated.4 The respondents come from both villages and cities in Syria, but in the interview, all mentioned the province where they come from instead of the village. An overview of the characteristics of the respondents can be look at in appendix 1, on page 52.
The sample tried to reflect the composition of Syrians in the Netherlands as it has been published by CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek). The table below shows the
percentages sexes, the average age and the average educational background of Syrians in the Netherlands (CBS, 2019; SCP, 2019) and Syrian refugees interviewed for this thesis. CBS (2019) has not published the average age of Syrians, but published the age category in which most Syrian refugees find themselves. In addition, the percentages of Syrians in the
2 Language level B1 stands for intermediate.
3 Muller-Funk (2019) names the age cohort 18-39, so this thesis makes an exception with one person aged 42. 4 The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport defines highly educated as higher professional (hbo) or university (wo) education. This thesis considers refugees whose Syrian degrees are valued at higher professional or university level by a state-recognized body as high educated.
Netherlands at different school levels have been included. Although the actual percentages differ somewhat, the sample of this thesis is relatively similar to Syrians in the Netherlands. This shows that the results of Syrians in the Netherlands correspond to the Syrians
interviewed for this thesis, which makes the sample of this thesis representative.
Average of Syrians in the Netherlands
Average Syrians for this thesis
Sex (in %) Male: 61 Female: 39 Male: 64 Female: 36
Age Male: 15-35 Female: 15-30 Male: 30 Female: 26
Education (% of total amount of people between 18-30) No school: 55 High school: 4 Mbo: 21 Hbo: 12 University: 8 No school: 36 High school: 0 Mbo: 29 Hbo: 21 University: 14
It is likely that highly educated people have more aspirations than low educated people. I am interested in whether this is correct, which is why I also interviewed a number of poorly educated people.
I have a considerable network of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands, due to my previous job where I worked with many Syrian refugees. A snowball sampling was used to reach more Syrian refugees as many of them introduced me to their friends and family. Research on refugees faces a lot of ethical questions, among which confidentiality, informed consent, building trust, language, cultural norms and my position as a white women. Because of the personal touch of the questions all respondents were told that their anonymity was guaranteed and they were not obliged to answer. In addition, permission was requested to record the interview. Therefore, chapter five discusses the results of this thesis and uses fictitious names.
The interviews were held via Skype or Facebook, due to COVID-19. The influence of online interviews will be explained in the paragraph on COVID-19 on page 21.
Semi-structured interviews and open questions were helpful in this thesis because it stimulates respondents to think. It gives room for creativity, provide a lot of information that can be used for deeper questions and provide insight into what is important to the respondent. These aspects can lead to the starting points of this research. Through interviewing the ‘social
dimension’ of aspirations and social networks, such as meanings and feelings, can be highlighted more deeply.
Nevertheless, this thesis has a number of limitations. During the interview questions were asked about respondents' perceptions in the past about migration, Europe and
specifically the Netherlands. The ‘present context’ shapes their perceptions about the past. Therefore, in investigating refugees’ aspirations the uncertainty of time horizons needs to be taken into account (Ryan and D’Angelo, 2017). Finally, the language barrier may have been an obstacle. Many respondents spoke the language very well, but it is a limitation not to be able to express yourself in your native language.
4.3 Data analysis
After collecting the data, the interviews were transcribed. Most of the interviews were conducted in Dutch, but translated into English for this thesis. The original statements, in Dutch, are included as footnotes. The statements of the interviews conducted in English have no footnotes. The research method to analyse the textual data was a qualitative content analysis. This is a sufficient tool to interpret perceptions, feelings and experiences from textual data. Besides, this method tries to contribute to the ‘understanding of the phenomenon under study’ (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005), which is useful in discovering the aspirations of refugees. Content analysis manages specific words, themes or concepts into coding fragments. Therefore, a content analysis can quantify and analyse meanings of and interactions between specific words and themes.
This thesis used software program Atlas.ti in order to clarify different meanings and interactions of specific themes. By assigning codes to text fragments, Atlas.ti has helped to find overarching themes and interactions between different components.
4.4 COVID-19
COVID-19 is a contagious disease that has turned into a pandemic. This disease has gripped the entire world the first half of 2020. In the Netherlands, the government announced a lockdown, which forced me to conduct the interviews online via Skype and Facebook as travelling and meeting in person were strongly discouraged. Online interviews have had a two-sided impact on my research. On the one hand, it offered respondents I have known for some time the opportunity to talk openly and freely about personal topics from behind a screen. I noticed that it served as protection for a number of respondents because they felt more anonymous and safer. That is why they dared to be more open in contrast to a
conversation face to face. On the other hand, it made recruiting respondents more difficult. Logically, not everyone is willing to have personal conversations with a stranger via Skype. It would have been easier to put someone who did not know me at ease in a face-to-face
conversation. Of course, technical problems with the sound, the connection or simply the lack of a Facebook or Skype account have also led to more challenging circumstances.
Due to COVID-19, the circumstances under which I had to write my thesis were mentally challenging as various national government measures were announced in March. Everyone in the Netherlands was called upon to stay at home and avoid social contact. I, therefore, had to work from home, as the UVA was closed, and it took me a while to find my niche in a new work environment.
5. Changing aspirations
This chapter, about the results, provides a chronological overview, which is divided into three sections based on different moments in which aspirations could have changed. The first section entails aspirations in the context of Syria. The second section concerns aspirations and changing desires and perceptions during the journey from Syria to the Netherlands, and the third sections focuses on aspirations while living in the Netherlands. As mentioned in chapter 4, the names used in this thesis are fictitious.
5.1 Stage one: Syria
The first section of this chapter delves back in time to discuss aspirations in the Syrian context. Based on satisfaction about life in Syria before the war, ideas and dreams about living and studying abroad, and life in Syria during the civil war, this section tries to create a clear picture of past aspirations. In addition, at the end of this section, attention is paid to the role that social networks, and in particular strong ties and weak ties, have played in this.
Syrian refugees in the Netherlands experience the period between 2000-2010 in Syria, as described in chapter two, with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Syria before the civil war is reminded as a careless and beautiful period of their lives. Most respondents were satisfied and felt prosperous. Alaa summarised the ideas of many respondents as follows: “Wonderful, I had a good life in Syria. Everything I had in Syria was an easier life than here.”5 On the other hand, a few respondents felt dissatisfied about their lives before the civil war broke out. Different reasons were mentioned why life in Syria could be hard sometimes. It partly has to
5 “Prachtig, ik had eigenlijk een goed leven in Syrië. Alles wat ik had in Syrië was een makkelijker leven dan hier.”
do with the political situation and freedom of expression. As long as freedom of religion and expression is only enshrined in the constitution, but not complied with in practice, it remains an obstacle in life in Syria for several respondents. Especially Renas and Ramez, both of whom have been in prison temporarily, experienced this obstacle and Renas put it as follows: “I can’t do anything. It is only okay to study at university or school, but you have limits. You are not free; you are not free.”6
Furthermore, in almost all interviews emerged education as an insufficiently
developed dimension concerning life in Syria. Many respondents mentioned the limitations of Syrian education. Therefore, many have dreamed of living abroad to fulfil a study elsewhere, among whom Esraa: “I had a dream to go to England to learn the English accent there. I wanted to study there, but I didn’t think I would live in England forever.”7 Ten out of fourteen respondents dreamed of studying abroad. Four respondents who did not dream of studying abroad thought not being capable of migrating due to their financial situation, educational background or personal circumstances. Others, who did dream of studying abroad linked foreign education to better job opportunities in Syria or abroad as well if you have a diploma of a foreign university.
So, most of the respondents, male as well as female, have had aspirations to live abroad for a high qualified study. Their eagerness of returning to Syria after completing a study abroad was striking because only three out of fifteen respondents aspired before Syria got involved in a war, to live abroad for the rest of their life. All respondents who aspired to live abroad after finishing university were male. A few female respondents of this thesis dreamed of studying abroad, but none of them dreamed of living abroad. One of the
respondents who dreamed of living abroad was Ramez: “My dream was to go to America. I thought it was special that people go to disco’s for dancing. That was not the case in Syria, it was conservative, and I don’t like that.”8 Others dreamed of living in countries, such as Saudi-Arabia, Dubai and Qatar. The reason for this desire was the type of job, including a higher salary than in Syria is offered. Therefore, Syrians were motivated to finish their university so that they could get a job in one of these countries. Nevertheless, when the civil war broke out this aspiration fade away because people were not able to finish university as Zayn told me:
6 “Ik mag niks doen. Ik kan studeren en naar de universiteit of naar school, maar je hebt grenzen. Je bent niet vrij, je bent niet echt vrij.”
7 “Ik had de droom om naar Engeland te gaan om daar het Engelse accent te kunnen leren. ik wilde daar graag studeren, maar ik dacht niet om er ook echt voor altijd te gaan wonen.”
8 “Mijn droom was om naar Amerika te gaan. Ik vond het bijzonder dat mensen daar naar discotheken gaan om te dansen. In Syrië was dat niet zo, dat was conservatief en dat vind ik niet leuk.”
“When I finish my studies, I can go there; otherwise I don’t have to”.9 These countries are expensive to live in, so Syrians aspire to live there when they have a considerably good job. Due to the civil war, most Syrians were unable to complete their education, and the chance of a good job was lost in the short term. This means that education is perceived as a symbol of the good life and a mechanism you have to fulfil to look forward.
The presence of ISIS in Syria had led to a high degree of insecurity for Syrian citizens. This is the main reason why respondents fled the country. However, the ground on which the decision to flee is made differs between men and women. As Amira said: “Everything in the war was difficult, and our houses were bombarded. You don’t have a safe life.”10 At the same time, men felt not just the threat of the war according to Salim: “I left not only for the war but also because I had to join the army. I didn’t want to fight against others who might be my friend or neighbour. I had two months to leave before joining the military, and then I decided, okay, I can’t live here anymore.”11 Moreover, according to Moro he, as a male, had two options: “Fight or die.”12 So, while men feel the threat of police, arrests, conscription and violence, women experience more fear related to bombing and destruction.
Moreover, when the war in Syria started and fleeing became an official plan, mostly male respondents aspired to live abroad. Three female respondents wanted to live in Turkey until the war would end, but none of them aspired to leave Syria for Europe. Therefore, the women I interviewed did not make completely independent decisions to flee, unlike men.
Female respondents travelled after their partner or other family members except for Zahra who travelled together with her husband and children. This could be related to the degree of danger in Syria or during the journey. Noor considered her flight as a chance offered by her husband: “Yes, I mean I got the opportunity to go abroad because my husband was there. I mean, I want that chance. I cannot leave it like that.”13 So, most female
respondents followed their partner or family members to the Netherlands. Nor was it an independent decision for Amira to go to Europe. Her husband, Salim, was building a future for both of them in Turkey. After a couple of months, Salim told Amira, without consultation, that he was in Greece on his way to the Netherlands because their future perspective in
9 “Als ik mijn studie afrond, dan kan ik daarheen, anders hoeft niet.”
10 “Alles in de oorlog was moeilijk en onze huizen werden gebombardeerd. Je hebt echt geen veilig leven.” 11 “Ik ging niet alleen weg voor de oorlog, maar ook omdat ik in het leger moest. Ik wilde niet vechten tegen anderen die misschien mijn vriend of buurman zijn. Ik had toen nog 2 maanden om weg te gaan voordat ik in het leger moest en toen besloot ik: oké, ik kan hier niet meer leven.”
12 “Vechten of dood.”
13 “Ja, ik bedoel dat ik de mogelijkheid had om naar het buitenland te gaan omdat mijn man daar was. Ik wilde die kans. Ik kon het niet voorbij laten gaan.”
Turkey was not good. Noor and Amira’s stories apply to other female respondents as well who consider the flight of their husband of other relatives to Europe as the cause of their flight to Europe.
Almost all male respondents had no answer on the question: where did you plan to go? Many countries are mentioned, such as Turkey, Sweden, Germany, Belgium and the
Netherlands, but many respondents were still ignorant of their ultimate destination. The urge to leave Syria as soon as possible to a safe area where there was no fear of life seemed to be all that mattered at that time. The life aspirations, the ideas about the future and beautiful dreams faded and gave way to the only important thing at that time, safety aspirations.
5.2 Stage two: during the journey
The second section of this chapter concerns the aspirations that respondents had during their flight from Syria. Therefore, this section discusses how aspirations changed compared to when the respondents were living in Syria. All respondents had to go through Turkey first, before they were able to reach Europe from Syria. Therefore, this section focuses on Turkey before discussing aspirations regarding European countries. Finally, four reasons for choosing the Netherlands are discussed from which different aspirations can be derived.
Turkey
This section describes the role of Turkey as a potential destination and as a transition country in the migration processes of the respondents. After leaving Syria, all respondents have been to Turkey before entering Europe.14 Most of the respondents, 10 out of 14, immediately moved to Turkey from Syria, while the other four first arrived in Lebanon. In most cases, a smuggler was used to cross the North Syrian border with Turkey. Until 2015 it was relatively easy to cross the Syrian-Turkish and Syrian-Lebanese border since they were open, but from 2015 the Turkish and Lebanese governments implied stricter policies (Koca, 2015; Duvell, 2019).
Syrian refugees gave meaning to Turkey in two different ways: Turkey as a safe place and Turkey as a transition country. Refugees, associating Turkey as a safe place, intended to settle in Turkey for the long term, while others, associating Turkey as a transition country, wanted to leave Turkey as soon as possible. Many refugees initially wanted to stay in Turkey
14 Just four out of fourteen respondents first moved to Lebanon before arriving in Turkey. These people concern one man who had family living in Lebanon, one man who thought it was a too great risk to travel through the ISIS area, and two women who had to take the airplane from Lebanon to Turkey.
and had multiple reasons to do so. The most frequent reasons were: (1) feeling safe and not fearing being bombed, kidnapped or arrested; (2) being close to Syria to return in case the war would be ended; (3) the high extend of people with an Islamic background, and (4) seeing opportunities to build a new life in Turkey. Refugees, perceiving Turkey as a transition country, left Turkey within one weak after arrival or stayed for a more extended period due to limited capabilities.
Respondents who had travelled to Europe immediately after arrival were in a stable financial situation. With the support of friends and family, they had gathered enough money to pay for smugglers and food. Others stayed in Turkey for a longer time to earn money to pay smugglers, who would bring them to Europe. Ray (2006) connects Syrian refugees who had to stay in Turkey to expand their capabilities to the aspirations gap. They stayed in Turkey and worked for months until they could afford to pay a smuggler who would bring them to Greece. Therefore, these refugees expanded their capabilities to be able to cross the border, and Turkey was perceived as a country to develop individuals’ capabilities. As money is an important capability in the event of this migration pattern, poor people and people with few capabilities can develop their ability, in order to make Europe a factual destination.
The above reasons for staying in Turkey where very persuasive for many refugees as they heard of friends or family that the Syrian war could be over any time. They perceived their Syrian life as stable and enjoyable, so they wanted to return to Syria as soon as it would be safe again. Furthermore, some migrants stayed in Turkey because they perceived their life in Turkey as promising. At the outset, they thought they were safe and were looking forward to a good future. However, even the Syrian refugees of this thesis who initially wanted to settle in Turkey decided to leave Turkey for Europe after months or sometimes a year living in Turkey. There are two reasons why they left Turkey for Europe.
Firstly, being unable to study in Turkey contributed to the aspiration to leave Turkey. Bilal mentioned his inability to fulfil educational aspirations as follows:
“I was looking for a chance to study. In Turkey I couldn’t fill the form/application because I needed a photo of my passport but I didn’t have a passport. This is also a reason why I couldn’t stay there. I had no identity and no diplomas.”
This statement shows the aspiration to develop himself in terms of education as a mechanism to find a good job. As long as this aspiration could not be fulfilled in Turkey, refugees aspired to leave Turkey for Europe, which emphasises the urge to education.
Secondly, the most common reason to leave Turkey for Europe is the aspiration for freedom. Most refugees experienced many forms of discrimination while living in Turkey. Amira and her husband Salim mentioned discrimination as a huge obstacle for Syrians living in Turkey, and, therefore, their reason to leave Turkey:
“Because it is very difficult for all levels of life. For example, when you work, the government does not protect you. As a Syrian in Turkey you don't have rights. I mean you don't have insurance. You work in one place and if you die or your arm is broken nobody will help you.”15
Furthermore, Renas has a similar experience: “Unfortunately I had to work in Turkey without money. That boss only gave us salary for 2 months and didn't give us any for the other 2 months. Turkey is like that, no paper and then you have no right to ask.”16 Not being treated properly or being treated unequally is therefore an important reason to leave Turkey.
Feeling safe in terms of not feeling the threat to be arrested, murdered, or bombed was not enough anymore to live a satisfied life. Safety aspirations, therefore, became less
important and a stronger focus was placed on freedom- and future aspirations. Not being able to fulfil educational aspirations and the development of freedom aspirations were important drivers of this sample of Syrian refugees for onward migration.
Syrian refugees transformed the foundation of their aspirations from safety to future, which is explained by Alaa:
“If I stay in Turkey I will just work. I cannot think about my future, so just work, work, work. I'm not going to do anything. Secondly, I cannot rent a house in Turkey on my own. Then I have to live with my friend, two or three people in a house. Thirdly, for study, for myself, for my study, for my life.”17
15 “Omdat het erg moeilijk is voor alle levensniveaus. Als je bijvoorbeeld werkt, beschermt de overheid je niet. Als Syriër in Turkije heb je geen rechten. Ik bedoel, je bent niet verzekerd. Je werkt op één plek en als je sterft of je arm is gebroken, zal niemand je helpen.”
16 “In Turkije moest ik werken helaas zonder geld. Die baas heeft ons alleen voor 2 maanden salaris gegeven en voor de andere 2 maanden niet gegeven. Turkije is zo, geen papier en dan heb je geen recht om te vragen.” 17 “Als ik in Turkije ga blijven ik ga alleen werken, ik ga niet aan mijn toekomst denken dus alleen werken, werken, werken. Ik ga niks doen. Ten tweede, ik kan niet in Turkije alleen huis huren dan moet ik leven met mijn vriend, twee of drie mensen in het huis. Ten derde, voor studie, voor mijzelf, voor mijn studie, voor mijn leven.”
This statement demonstrates the urge to freedom and acceptance of migrants who stayed in Turkey for a longer time. Alaa stayed in Turkey for 7 months and realised he could not fulfil his future aspirations in Turkey. His life goals, including studying and renting a house of his own, could not be met in Turkey. He felt compelled to travel to Europe. This not only applies to Alaa, but also to others who, after living in Turkey for a while, chose to travel to Europe. Syrian refugees have lived under the yoke of the authoritarian regime for years, and alongside their security aspirations, the aspirations for freedom became increasingly prominent. The quotes of Amira, Renas and Alaa describe what is meant by freedom. For them, freedom is not only about expressing yourself as you want and believing what you want, but also about being treated equally. Appraising and valuing people of different backgrounds equally seem to be a crucial factor for Syrian refugees in their aspirations for freedom.
As mentioned in chapter two the situation for Kurdish Syrians vary from Arabic Syrians. Even differences in social-cultural identities could influence differences in
aspirations of Arabic Syrians and Kurdish Syrians. Where safety aspirations had the focus of Arabic Syrians before freedom aspirations developed, freedom aspirations previously played a central role for Kurdish Syrians. Kurdish Syrians were looking for safety as well but all three Kurdish respondents often mentioned their aspiration to freedom, acceptance and rights. For them, freedom aspirations are prominently present as from stage one on. The most
striking statement of Zahra makes painfully clear what the situation is for Kurdish Syrians in Turkey:
“The only difference between Turkey and Syria is the war but I think Turkey is almost more dangerous than Syria. Syria is our country, we know what to do in our own area but that is not the case in Turkey. I also think Turkey is dangerous.”18
Therefore, the history of Syrian Kurds in Syria is the foundation of their aspirations to freedom and acceptance. Renas and Elias, both Syrian Kurds aspired immediately to migrate to Europe while Zahra, a Kurdish woman initially believed Turkey to meet her aspirations of safety and freedom. While living in Turkey for a couple of months her husband decided to migrate to Europe. After a couple of days Zahra agreed because she could not fulfil her
18 “Het enige verschil tussen Turkije en Syrië is de oorlog, maar ik denk dat Turkije bijna gevaarlijker is dan Syrië. Syrië is ons land, we weten wat we in ons eigen gebied moeten doen, maar dat is in Turkije niet het geval. Ik denk ook dat Turkije gevaarlijk is.”
aspirations in Turkey as she wanted to live somewhere where she felt accepted and appreciated.
There is a connection between pre-war discontents, dreaming of abroad, capabilities and aspirations to live in Europe. Refugees, who were relatively dissatisfied in Syria before the war, aspired to move on to Europe as soon as possible. For all respondents who aspired to travel to Europe, they did so immediately if they had sufficient capabilities, such as money and, if possible, a social network. They only stayed in Turkey in case they needed to expand their capabilities to be able to travel to Europe. Refugees, who did not aspire to live in Europe before the war started, look back at their life before war as “perfect”19 and “wonderful”20 as Bilal and Alaa described. Besides, the lack of capabilities to live in Europe also contributed to not aspiring to live in Europe. For example, Zahra, who had no diplomas and financial
possibilities to live in Europe, never thought of going abroad because she had no capabilities to travel to Europe. After living in Turkey for a while, Zahra and her husband increased their capabilities and started to dream of a life in Europe.
In sum, this section described that aspirations change as refugees who initially wanted to stay in Turkey decided to migrate to Europe. Due to limited educational opportunities, discrimination and changing connotations of the concept of safety; refugees aspire to continue their lives elsewhere in Europe.
Europe
Some refugees decided in Turkey to where exactly to go in Europe, while others started to think about a destination after leaving Turkey. When in Greece, Macedonia or Serbia all migrants selected a European country where they wanted to build their future. This section explains which aspirations contributed to choose the Netherlands as a new home. As
mentioned before, most respondents did not exactly know where to go in Europe before they left Syria. Some of them made a decision in Turkey, although most respondents had strong doubts. Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands were mentioned most often. There are several reasons why Syrian refugees chose the Netherlands instead of other countries to fulfil their aspirations.
Firstly, a frequent mentioned factor is the Dutch education system. Syrian refugees aspire personal development to have a good future perspective. A job with a pleasant salary equalled a good future perspective for most refugees. When living in Turkey, most refugees
19 “Perfect.”` 20 “Prachtig.”
were exceptionally positive about the Dutch education system. Therefore, work- and
education systems in the Netherlands seemed to be attractive to Syrian refugees, as explained by Ramez: “I have read that people in the Netherlands speak English very well and they also offer studies in English. That is why I was attracted to the Dutch education system.”21
Most refugees considered the Dutch education system as great because they could start a study quickly, studies are offered in English and the government provides financial support. In contrast to their experiences in Syria, refugees believed that having a job was an option alongside studying at a Dutch school. Therefore, educational aspirations are based on a future perspective and considered as an important mechanism to have a good life.
Secondly, the Netherlands was thought-out to be open-minded and associated with freedom, for example, by Renas: “The Netherlands is a free country, you can not only talk about freedom, but everyone can be free.”22 The stories about the Dutch population circulating in their network have been decisive in this, because their peers described the Dutch population as very friendly. During the interviews it turned out that many refugees miss a social network in their current lives in the Netherlands and consider having a social network and friendly people nearby as an important dimension of their life. Ramez
mentioned: “I also made a comparison between the Netherlands and Sweden. Sweden is very big and you rarely see people on the street. Then I say no, I want to go to the Netherlands, because social life will be better.”23 For Ramez, the expected kindness of Dutch people was important in the decision to migrate to the Netherlands.
In addition to Ramez, more respondents aspire a social life in a society where freedom is guaranteed. Freedom of expression and freedom of religion are often associated with an anti-racist society. The focus has often been on the degree of discrimination and racism and the degree of expected kindness of the population of a society. For migrants who doubted before, this factor was highly decisive in selecting the Netherlands as Alaa said:
“I know someone in Germany and I know someone in the Netherlands, so I compared. First I asked him about racism and Germany, I heard from a friend there that many
21 Ik heb gelezen dat mensen in Nederland heel goed Engels spreken en ook studies in het Engels aanbieden. Daarom vond ik het Nederlandse schoolsysteem zo goed.”
22 “Nederland is een vrij land. Je kan hier niet alleen over vrijheid praten, maar iedereen kan vrij zijn.”
23 “Ik heb ook vergelijking gemaakt tussen Nederland en Zweden. Zweden is heel groot en het is toevallig als je mensen op straat ziet. Dan zeg ik nee, ik wil naar Nederland. Het sociale leven is beter.”
