An undercover BBC investigation found that Syrian refugee children are working illegally for British corporations, Marks and Spencer and Asos. Despite Marks and Spencer’s explanation about no Syrian refugee found in its supply chain, seven Syrians were found in one of the main factories by the investigation. Adult refugees were also found working illegally on Zara and Mango jeans.
"If anything happens to a Syrian, they will throw him away like a piece of cloth"
The investigation revealed that the youngest refugee working in one of the factory was 15 years old and he was working more than 12 hours a day. These refugees also earn little more than a pound an hour (less than 1.25 US dollars), which is much lower than the minimum wage in Turkey.
One of the refugees told the reporter "If anything happens to a Syrian, they will throw him away like a piece of cloth."
REFUGEE CRISIS IN TURKEY
Turkey is the world’s largest host of Syrian refugees, accepting more than 2.5 million people who have fled the conflict since 2011. The country is also one of the largest producers of clothing for top brands, and Syrian refugees are used as cheap labor, advantaging from their vulnerable situation.
The government of Turkey has won praise for its “open door” policy towards Syrian refugees so far. This has been used as a populist policy by the AKP government. Despite the governmental aids given to the refugees and debates on conferring citizenship to Syrian refugees in Turkey, the position of most of the refugees is to be a cheap, illegal workers in subcontracter garment producers.
As a response to the deepening crisis, the government announced that they would be given the right to work after striking a deal with the EU as part of an effort to reduce the numbers flocking to Europe.
CHILD WORKERS TAKING SELFIES WITH ERDOĞAN
Impoverishment of the working class by neoliberal policies has led to the increase of child labor in Turkey, despite its unlawfulness. The state authorities show no sign of taking any measures to prevent this situation even if they actually witness. The photos taken two weeks ago in Erdoğan’s visit to the district of auto-mechanic shops in Ankara showed that children, who were obviously working in these shops, tried to greet Erdoğan and take a photo of themselves with him. No explanation came from the authorities despite critical reflections to the photos.
