labor force participation of syrian refugees and integration: case of adana and mersin cities

This article examines Syrian refugees in the context of theirparticipation to labor market, difficulties that they face and possibilities of their economic integration in of Adana and Mersin cities. In this argument, , the market that is built by Syrian refugees is investigated, such as local shops, street venders, and other fields of occupations, alongside examination of related some other economic data. During the discussion of Syrian market, the tension between refugees and local people are examined within its causes and results. In this debate, the increasing visibility of Arabic signboards as an outcome of rising number of shops owned by Syrians and also the growth of Syrian labor force market can be count as some of the main facts.  Beside formal restrictions, other social problems such as obstacles that refugees face during their daily life about work, low wages, seizure of salaries, exploitation of labor etc. are examined. All of these analyzes are based on a field research which is conducted in Adana and Mersin cities, as well as on other researches related with Syrian refugees. As an outcome of this research, the article asserts that economic integration is an essential issue for Syrian refugees living in Turkey. It is underlined that the formal status "temporary protection" which defines Syrian as temporal in the country does not provide enough responses to the social realities o, thus it should be reconsidered in the way that allows participation of those people to the labor market legally. The article insists on the importance of doing some changes and developing new policies for economic integration for refugees in order to establish and sustain social order in Turkey with its new comers.