‘Here, I’m a Syrian in Erbil’: Identities and Livelihoods of the Syrian Refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

This chapter examines the livelihood and identities of the Syrian self-settled refugees living in Erbil city, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Although our case analyses a population of only a few more than fifty thousand people, it is worthy of scholarly attention for several reasons. The urban refugees in the KRI are vastly understudied, as they are hard for field researchers and humanitarian organizations to reach. Official statistics on urban refugees are largely unavailable in Iraq. The focus of scholars and aid agencies has been on refugees settled in camps. However, recently urban non-camp refugees have become not only more numerous, but also a focal point of humanitarian organizations and scholars. This chapter analyses a case of intraethnic relations, which are more common in Syria’s neighbouring areas. Understanding the integration of Syrians with their host communities is not only vital to assessing the humanitarian situation of the Syrians, but also to understanding the reformulation of inter- and intra-ethnic relations in a sectarianized new Middle East. To curb the reach of the tumultuous Arab Spring in 2011 and keep themselves in place, authoritarian regimes across the Middle East resorted to sectarian narratives. In countries with religious and ethnic diversity, the Shia–Sunni sectarian line was used to prevent the formulation of cross-sectarian oppositions and polarize communities. Sectarianism coloured trajectories of displacement and return as well. Shiites in Iraq mostly fled to areas inhabited by their co-religionists, as did Sunnis. Returning families in Syria were found to be brought in from the Shiite community of Iraq and Lebanon in place of the displaced Sunnis. Based on original field data – a survey conducted in Erbil in March 2020 (N = 152), key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders and in-depth life story interviews with refugees conducted by the authors in Erbil – this chapter shows that these refugees are in a more dire situation and in more need of protection than most aid agencies think, especially during shocks and crises. Although the permissive policies in place in the KRI have created a favourable market environment where Syrians can access public services, establish business and move freely within the KRI, the lack of legal protection puts refugees up against economic hardship on the ground. Moreover, Syrians may face differential treatment while receiving services, an aspect that could bring into question the rhetoric of successful assimilation into the host community often touted by local authorities and the UNHCR. However, differential treatment and access to state services is systemic also for Iraqi Kurds in the KRI, due to the pervasiveness of wasta and patronage. Despite sharing a common ethnic bond, Kurdish Syrian refugees in Erbil also often feel a sense of alienation emanating from an othering label of ‘Syrians’ commonly used by the host community. The experience of displacement and the lack of protection have created significant vulnerabilities among the Syrian Kurdish refugees in Erbil. Being Syrian nationals, ethnic Kurds and refugees or displaced persons creates a compounded identity that is different from that of the Kurdish Iraqi host population. This comes into play when Syrians need to access state services and in relation to gender roles. Importantly, our study analyses livelihood during a period of economic crisis and external shocks in the Kurdistan Region, due to the economic downturn in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region following the decline in oil prices from 2014 and the conflict between Baghdad and Erbil over sharing oil resources. The economy was also affected by the war against ISIS between 2014 and 2017 and the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout.

‘Here, I’m a Syrian in Erbil’: Identities and Livelihoods of the Syrian Refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq