Country: Syria

Group: Romani

Date Finalized: 4/21/2021

Team: Arisha Khan (Lead), Natasha Chandra, Rayna Castillo, Samantha Bradford

Content Warning: war, physical violence, genocide, discrimination, racism

Approximate Time Period: 2011-present

          Yes, the Romani as a minority group have been subject to being forced away from Syria as a result of conflict and persecution. Their experience of being forced away has been well-documented (data quality = 3).

          It has been estimated that around 300,000 Romani, also called Doms, have been living in Syria before the Syrian war in 2011 (Karabıyık & Bayraktar, 2016). The Doms in Syria were either settled or semi-nomadic, and were usually denied citizenship by Syria as they were considered nomadic and migratory (Karabıyık & Bayraktar, 2016). In March 2011, pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa (BBC News, 2021). When the Syrian government responded using deadly force, the violence rapidly escalated. Even though many Doms didn’t take a side in the Syrian war, the Dom community was expelled from their homes by the different warring parties (Rorke, 2018). Jihadists have expelled and committed atrocities against the Dom community in Syria, declaring them “not Muslim enough”, while the Syrian government believed that the Dom communities were supporting oppositions groups (Rorke, 2018). As a result, around 50,000 Doms escaped to Cukurova, Turkey (Karabıyık & Bayraktar, 2016; Minority Rights Group; UNHCR). Even though many have fled the persecution and war in Syria, many Doms continue to face discrimination in Turkey as well (Karabıyık & Bayraktar, 2016).

          The Romani have been forced away from Syria by the warring communities involved in the Syrian war. Due to the extensive information about the Dom refugees who fled Syria and are living in Turkey, the data quality is a 3.

Sources

  1. Karabıyık, E., & Bayraktar, S. (2016). Living at the bottom: Dom migrants from Syria on the road amid poverty and discrimination : present situation report. Minority Rights Group. Roma. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://minorityrights.org/minorities/roma-19/
  2. Rorke, B. (2018). European Roma Rights Centre (Hungary) [Text]. On the brink of catastrophe: the forgotten Dom refugees from Syria; European Roma Rights Centre. http://www.errc.org/news/on-the-brink-of-catastrophe-the-forgotten-dom-refugees-from-syria
  3. UNHCR. (n.d.). https://data2.unhcr.org/fr/documents/download/54515
  4. BBC News. Why has the Syrian war lasted 10 years? (2021, March 12). https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35806229