ARTE Reportage

Last year, in response to the opposition's demand to send all Syrians back across the border, President Erdoğan declared, "We will never allow Kemal Bey (the opposition candidate) to send our Syrian brothers home!" But the popularity of the Turkish President has since declined, in the wake of a deep economic crisis and a lacklustre rescue response to February's lethal earthquake. Meanwhile, Turkish xenophobic sentiment has grown, with some Syrian neighbourhoods even becoming the target for looting and unrest. As he tries to retain his twenty-year grip on power, Erdoğan announced a plan for the "voluntary return" of one million Syrians last summer.