Education in Complex Emergencies: Effects of the February 6 Earthquake on Syrian Students in Türkiye

Authors : İbrahim Halil Yılmaz

Pages : 131-155

Doi:10.26650/SJ.2024.44.1.0014

View : 19 | Download : 14

Publication Date : 2024-08-26

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article examines the effects of the February 6 earthquake on Syrian students in Türkiye. After experiencing forced migration and the quake in childhood, these students exhibited multiple characteristics of social vulnerability. Therefore, the study characterises their situation as a complex emergency. This study examines the impact of school access on students’ vulnerability, normalisation process, and resilience. As this study focuses on multiple situations, it adheres to the qualitative research tradition and adopts a case study design. Findings from in-depth interviews with 18 Syrian middle and high school students in Gaziantep province revealed that the refugee group is socially vulnerable because of their relative deprivation compared to the residents. According to the results of the study, the adverse effects of the earthquake combined with the forced migration experience deepened the social vulnerability of refugee children. The results also show that access to school is critical for supporting children’s psychological well-being and their capacity to move away from vulnerability, normalisation, and resilience. This was achieved by supporting their social capital network, which refers to the resources and support systems that they could access through their school community. This study found that proactive and long-term efforts to improve conditions for groups with multiple social vulnerabilities positively impact postdisaster recovery by supporting community resilience against devastating natural disasters.
Keywords : Emergency education, February 6 earthquakes, Refugee, Resilience, Social capital, Social vulnerability, Syrian students