“How can you recover with these resources?” : care delivery to Syrian refugees amidst Turkey’s 2023 earthquakes : a research report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in International Development at Massey University, New Zealand

Abstract

Turkey hosts over 3.6 million Syrian refugees most of whom live near the Syrian border in the South-East of Turkey (Şahin-Mencütek et al., 2023, p.2). When two major earthquakes (7.8 and 7.5 magnitude) struck South-East Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023, refugee populations were among those immediately impacted. This study considered the different factors that impacted NGO involvement in refugee care following the 2023 earthquakes - specifically, how NGOs approached aid delivery for refugees, why they took the approaches they did, and to understand the successes and challenges faced by NGOs in the process of aid delivery. These questions are situated amidst the concepts of refugees’ rights to care, rights-based approaches and needs-based care as a potential lens for aid delivery.

This study employs a qualitative methodology, supported by semi-structured interviews, a thematic document analysis and reflective journaling as the chosen research methods. Key findings indicate that two significant challenges for NGOs were securing sufficient and ongoing funding, and the delivery of care to refugee women. The funding challenges encountered by NGOs significantly limited the scope of aid efforts and forced NGO-led recovery programs to end prematurely despite ongoing needs. Challenges in delivering aid to refugee women were found to be multi-faceted, stemming from cultural and religious norms, as well as the socio-political positionality of Syrian refugees at the time. However, this study found that NGOs experienced the greatest success when a targeted, needs-specific approach was taken, suggesting that the utilisation of needs-based models of care within a development/relief context may strengthen refugee care and champion refugees’ rights to care in disaster context.