On Wednesday, the Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists Association (MUSIAD) launched the Migration Report in Turkey in cooperation with its Foundation for International, Technological and Economic Studies.
This came at a press conference held at the MUSIAD headquarters in Istanbul, and the report was titled “Understanding and Managing Migration: A Roadmap for an Integrated Migration Policy.”
The association’s president, Mahmut Asmali, said that “wars, political pressures and economic crises force people to migrate and leave their homes in the Middle East and Africa, and the war in Ukraine is an example of this.”
He added that “migrant communities are suffering.. and host communities are also disturbed by these migrations and suffer anxiety due to the pressures that may arise and lead to economic crises, social problems and class differences.”
He explained that “the presence of refugees leads to changes in societies.. migration is not only a story of changing land and geography, but it is the acquisition of a new identity, life and hope, and coexistence between migrants and hosts is a reality that cannot be escaped.”
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Ahmed Doğan Alpern, head of the Research Foundation, said during the conference, “If migration is managed well, it will go from being a crisis to an opportunity and it will impose responsibilities on everyone.”
He added, “We conducted field research to produce this report.. The problems of migrants were heard directly from them and the difficulties they faced, and accordingly, integration programs must be activated, including integration programs, further strengthening public services, and enhancing dialogue.”
Academic Bekir Berat Ozipek, who supervised the report, said, “A questionnaire was conducted with companies.. The research included 7 states and there were direct meetings and encounters with people without interfering in their conversation.”
He added, “The data was verified.. while the questionnaire with companies included 425 companies in 81 states, and the report included observations, problems, solutions, and a roadmap for that.”
For his part, Erol Yarar, head of the International Business Forum, said that the forum will work to address the issue of migration at a conference to be held in Istanbul in the coming days, and will include several sessions covering the issue of migration, its problems, and ways to solve them through specialists.