Refugee Perspectives on Migration Policy: Lessons from the Middle East

In a world with over 70 million people registered as forcibly displaced, governing migration has long been high on the European Union's agenda. However, rather than emerging from evidence-based perspectives, policy responses have often been built on simplistic premises regarding how refugees' mobility and decision-making work. Findings from the research project SYRMAGINE can contribute to the revising of these views: While many Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Turkey strongly long for a return to their native country should the conflict end, returning under current conditions is perceived as unsafe - with individuals fearing military conscription or political persecution upon return, especially those opposed to al-Assad's regime. Often moderate aspirations to stay in the host country exist, even should the war end. Among refugees in Turkey, strong resistance to the idea of migrating to Europe is also prevalent. The consideration to settle down is based on a preference to remain geographically close to Syria, to live in a culturally familiar context, feelings of relative safety compared to Syria, family ties, and the notion that building a life worth living might be possible where one currently lives. Factors which influence refugees' decisions to move on to another third country are a combination of insufficient legal safety, financial vulnerability, and inadequate access to health and education services within the host country; views within families about onwards migration; and, refugees' current life satisfaction and future imaginations. With ongoing violence in Syria alongside the legal and economic vulnerabilities faced by refugees in the Middle East, safe pathways to reaching third countries need to be expanded. In the Middle East itself, policies should focus on improving legal and educational conditions for refugees and supporting anti-discrimination measures. Return campaigns and refoulement have to stop immediately.