With 5.4 million refugees in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, and another 6.5 million internally displaced, Syrians constitute the largest refugee population in the world. The ongoing conflict in Syria has created the biggest wave of displacement and refugees since World War II, along with devastating destruction and hundreds of thousands of victims.
A year and a half ago, the Carnegie Middle East Center (CMEC) embarked on its Triggers of Return project—spearheaded by CMEC director Maha Yahya—which sought to improve the understanding of Syrian refugees’ predicament, and their requirements for a potential political solution to the conflict.
CMEC held the launch of a report on this issue, entitled Unheard Voices: What Syrian Refugees Need to Return Home, which is the culmination of these 14 months of research. Based on focus group discussions with Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, and a series of workshops with NGO professionals and experts on Syria, migration, and conflict resolution, the report offers policy recommendations that place refugee demands at the center of any sustainable political resolution of the Syrian conflict.
M. Murat Erdoğan
M. Murat Erdoğan is the founder and former director of Hacettepe University and Migration and Politics Research Center-HUGO.
Ben Hubbard is a Middle East correspondent for the New York Times.
Maha Yahya is the director of Carnegie Middle East Center.
Jihad Yazigi is the editor in chief of the Syria Report.