The Representation of Afghan Refugees in the Turkish Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Turkey is the largest refugee-hosting country in the world, hosting 3.7 million Syrian refugees and 300,000 Afghan Asylum seekers according to international reports (UNHCR, 2022). From 2010 on, Syrians started flowing into Turkey to escape the threats of the civil war and the injustice of Assad’s regime. The Turkish government, led by the Justice and Development Party (AK party), adopted an open-door policy deciding to host the Syrian neighbors and support them during this crisis in the belief that the Assad regime would soon fall and the “guests” would be able to return to their country. Unexpectedly, Assad is still ruling up to the present day, and the Syrian refugees in Turkey are no longer considered to be guests; rather, they are now regarded as an “unwanted burden.” The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey rose to higher levels than expected and their situation shifted from being “temporary guests” to one of becoming “new possible citizens” after President Erdogan announced that selected Syrians would be granted Turkish nationality (Güney, 2021).