Abstract
In 2011, Syrians fleeing the civil war in Syria tried to migrate to neighboring countries. While some countries did not accept Syrian refugees, others opened their doors to immigrants. Currently, Turkey is known as the country with the highest number of Syrians. These citizens, who left their countries and homes and migrated to other countries to protect their lives and children, faced different problems in the countries where they settled. Turkish authorities are taking steps to solve these problems. The aid and problem-solving steps taken for Syrian refugees are exhibited to the citizens of other countries through digitalized public diplomacy. In this study, firstly, information about the concept of migration is given and the migration from Syria to Turkey is discussed. Then, two different news published on the website of TRT World news channel were examined through critical discourse analysis to demonstrate how Turkey's attitude and benevolence towards Syrians is reflected to the world through digitalized public diplomacy.
TopIntroduction
Turkey, which is located in an important region in terms of its geopolitical position, has an immigrant and emigrant structure. Turkey, which has opened its doors to people of many different races, religions and languages for centuries, today has approximately 5 million 506 thousand 304 foreign nationals. The vast majority of these are migrants fleeing the Assad regime in Syria. Syrian citizens who tried to save their lives due to the bloody attacks of the Assad regime sought refuge in Turkey. Turkey opened its doors to migrants in difficult situations and took them under temporary protection. Some Turkish citizens criticize the authorities for granting Syrian migrants many of the same rights that they grant to their own citizens. The aid provided to migrants, who are often prioritized in hospitals, schools and government offices, also attracts attention. There are citizens who use social media to publicize their criticism, as well as those who support the aid provided to Syrians. However, there are also news websites that try to create a positive perception by presenting Turkey's attitude towards migrants.
The concept of migration is first explained in this study and then information about migration from Syria to Turkey is given. Then, 2 different news published on the website of TRT World news channel were examined through critical discourse analysis to demonstrate how Turkey's attitude and benevolence towards Syrians is reflected to the world through digitalized public diplomacy. The selected news items were determined in accordance with the objective of the study by purposive sampling method. The news articles titled “Syrian refugee children get education in Turkey” and “Syrians living in Turkey to become citizens, Erdogan says” were analyzed.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Turkey: Turkey, or officially the Republic of Turkey, is a country with most of its territory in Anatolia and a small part in Thrace, the southeastern extension of the Balkan Peninsula.
Assad Regime: When Bashar Assad, son of Hafez Assad, took over the administration in Syria, he created his own regime. The name of this regime is known as Assad or the Assad regime.
Migration: It is the act of settling in another place by leaving the area where communities or individuals are located for any reason.
TRT World: It is an international television channel founded by TRT and replacing TRT int.
Public Diplomacy: Public diplomacy is a process that describes how the government of a country tries to influence the citizens and intellectuals of another country in line with their own political and ideological views.
Refugee: A person who has been persecuted in his own country for certain reasons and has taken refuge in another country.
Syria: Syria, also known as the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country located in Western Asia. Its language is Arabic.