Intercultural Communication Experiences of Syrian Immigrants and the Challenges They Face: The Case of Şanlıurfa Province

Migration and migrants have been one of the most fundamental elements of social, economic and cultural transformations throughout history and have therefore become an important focus of academic studies. This study analyses the intercultural communication problems of Syrian migrants living in Şanlıurfa, Turkey, with the local people. In this applied field study using qualitative research method, face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 participants selected by purposive sampling method. The data obtained was analysed by content analysis and various themes and codes were created. The findings reveal that Syrian migrants see the language barrier as the biggest challenge and that this negatively affects their social cohesion. In addition to language-based problems, social factors such as exclusion, marginalization, prejudices, nationalist discourses and lack of empathy were also found to deepen communication problems. Especially the elderly participants stated that they experienced serious difficulties due to their lack of language skills and that their sense of belonging weakened. Despite all these negativities, Syrian migrants stated that they believed that behaving respectfully and empathizing would help them overcome communication problems. This study makes important observations and offers some suggestions in light of the findings obtained from Syrian immigrants.