The Turkish government gave Syrians living in Istanbul until the end of October to return to the province where they originally registered.
Legally, refugees cannot leave that province without permission, but it’s believed 1 million Syrians live in Istanbul, where they often work in the informal economy.
In June, the Turkish government quietly began arresting Syrians, and other nationalities, as well.
Haitham was among them, he is now living in a camp in Idlib province, like 3 million other Syrians. His wife and children are now on their own in Istanbul, and they’ve made the decision to return to Syria to be with him.
Shona Bhattacharyya, Ludovic de Foucaud and Shadi Türk bring you this report.
Click the 'play' button above to listen to the audio report, or subscribe to our podcast by searching 'RFI international report.
↧