GAZIANTEP, TURKEY // The massive influx of refugees from Syria has led to rising public anger in southern Turkey with allegations of rising living costs, the undermining of Turkish businesses, and pressure on jobs.
In Gaziantep, a city of 1.5 million people about 60 kilometres north of the border that has become home to an estimated 200,000 Syrians, many Turkish citizens said the arrival of the Syrians had changed their lives for the worse.
“They steal and beg,” Kadir Sengir, a shopkeeper on Inonu Caddesi, one of the main streets in Gaziantep, said of the Syrians. “I don’t allow my own little daughter to play on the street anymore.”
Sinan Dagli, a 26-year-old shop assistant in Gaziantep, said he had been thrown out of the apartment where he lived with his wife and two children because Syrians offered the owner a much higher rent. “We used to pay 300 lira (Dh520), but the Syrians said they would pay 750 lira,” Mr Dagli said. “The owner told us we could stay if we paid 700 as well, but we couldn’t. So we had to move out from one day to the next.”
Competition from wealthy Syrians is not the only problem for Turks. Locals in Gaziantep said poor Syrians were driving down wages because they were willing to work in the informal sector for about half the Turkish minimum wage of just under 900 Turkish lira a month.
For years, Gaziantep had strong links to Syria, with trade flowing freely. But since the conflict began in 2011, the number of businesses run by Syrians in the city have increased, according to residents.
“Everything is fine,” said Bakir Hamadiye, a Syrian who fled his home in Aleppo six months ago, and now runs a kebab restaurant in Gaziantep. “I have Syrian as well as Turkish customers.”
Mr Hamadiye, who employs half a dozen other refugees as waiters and helpers, said he had not felt any discrimination from Turks.
But up the road, Zeki Cop, the owner of a Turkish kebab restaurant, complained about unfair advantages enjoyed by Syrians. He said Turkish authorities tolerated Syrian shops even though they were illegal. “They don’t need permissions, they don’t pay tax, they don’t pay anything,” Mr Cop said.
Last month, a crowd of Turks attacked a Syrian motorist in Gaziantep who had injured a Turkish woman and her child in a traffic accident in Gaziantep, according to news reports.
Police saved the Syrian driver, but the crowd moved on to a neighbourhood where many Syrians live. “Turkey belongs to us,” the crowd chanted. Authorities in Gaziantep later banned a planned anti-Syrian protest march in the city.
Anti-Syrian protests also broke out in Kahramanmaras, north-west of Gaziantep. “We don’t want Syrians,” demonstrators shouted, according to news reports. Several people were hurt in scuffles between demonstrators and the police.
Turkey has taken in a total of around 1.4 million Syrians, according to government figures. Around 200,000 Syrians are housed in refugee camps, but most live in cities and towns along the long border and in cities, where authorities say there are about 70,000 Syrians, while media reports put the figure at 300,000.
There has been much international praise for Turkey’s readiness to give refuge to Syrians under what the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, calls its “open door policy”. But in cities like Gaziantep, many people say they have to bear the economic and social cost of that policy.
Mr Sengir, the shopkeeper on Inonu Caddesi, said he had voted for Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the past, but would not do so anymore. “The AKP is finished for me,” he said, adding that he would not vote for Mr Erdogan in the upcoming presidential election on August 10, in which the prime minister is running.
In Kilis, a provincial capital south of Gaziantep and a few kilometres from the Syrian border, locals agreed with Mr Sengir. Osman Besir, a waiter in a restaurant in Kilis, said he felt as if Syrians had overrun his hometown.
“There are days when I see hardly any Turks here at all,” he said. The local state hospital gave preferential treatment for Syrian patients, some of them wounded fighters from the war in Syria, he added. “As a Turk, you have to wait in line,” he said. “Keeping the border open has been a mistake.”
Despite the frustration expressed by people such as Mr Besir, it is unlikely that the discontent will translate into losses for Mr Erdogan in the presidential election. Polls show the prime minister is the clear favourite to become Turkey’s first directly elected president with around 55 per cent of the vote.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
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Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
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Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
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Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
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Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
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THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
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Dust and sand storms compared
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- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
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Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Fight Night
FIGHT NIGHT
Four title fights:
Amir Khan v Billy Dib - WBC International title
Hughie Fury v Samuel Peter - Heavyweight co-main event
Dave Penalosa v Lerato Dlamini - WBC Silver title
Prince Patel v Michell Banquiz - IBO World title
Six undercard bouts:
Michael Hennessy Jr v Abdul Julaidan Fatah
Amandeep Singh v Shakhobidin Zoirov
Zuhayr Al Qahtani v Farhad Hazratzada
Lolito Sonsona v Isack Junior
Rodrigo Caraballo v Sajid Abid
Ali Kiydin v Hemi Ahio