By Lauren Williams

Syrian refugees stroll at the Islahiye refugee camp in Gazintep, Turkey.
ANTAKYA, Turkey: With their few belongings packed in to plastic bags and crates Syrian refugees at the Boyniyogun camp in southwestern Turkey Tuesday began moving to more permanent facilities in Kilis further East, for a stay in Turkey that looks increasingly long-term.

With news trickling in to the camps of further advances by Syrian military forces across the country, refugees here say they are pessimistic about any return to Syria in the near future. Instead, they say they are settling in to a makeshift life in Turkey that may stretch into years.

The 2,000 refugees in Boyniyogun are among 22,000 refugees now housed in plastic tents at six camps in the Hatay governorate, to be relocated to more permanent structures in two camps in Kilis, in the Gaziantep province this week, said Turkey’s Foreign Ministry. An extra 1,500 refugees entered Turkey from northwestern Idlib and surrounding areas in the last week, according to a Foreign Ministry official.

The official told The Daily Star the new consoles are reportedly more comfortable and sturdy, and, at roughly 100 kilometers away from the border, are designed to limit dangerous frequent crossings to and fro across the nearby Syrian border for family visits and weapons smuggling.

“The main reason for the move is that people coming and going creates a security problem, especially now that the borders are mined,” the official said. “Of course, smuggling is also another problem.”

Packing up the last of the belongings in his 4-by-5-meter tent, Rabie, 34, says he now believes he will be in Turkey for years.

The former restaurant owner fled Jisr al-Shoughour with his wife on foot in July, fearing retribution from Syrian security forces after his brother defected from the army.

“We thought we might be here for two months. Now it’s been 10,” he said. “Only God knows how long we will stay in Turkey.”

He added that recent news from the Friends of Syria conference held in Istanbul, lack of faith in a cease-fire and reports from family member of gains by the Syrian army had spread pessimism in the camp that the regime could hold on longer than they first anticipated.

“We were counting on the international community to support the FSA at the Friends of Syria, but we don’t feel confident anymore,” he said, preparing coffee on a home-made heater. “I think this is going to last a long time.”

Still, while return looks unlikely any time soon, life is going on here.

Baby Bilal was born in Boyniyogun in November after his father and heavily pregnant wife made the journey on foot from conflict torn Jisr al-Shoughour in August.

Holding his boy up for a photograph, his father Ahmad said his decision to flee had been made for his son’s future. “I was arrested when I was 8 for stealing a picture of [President] Hafez [Assad] to put on my wall,” he explained. “I don’t want my children to face the same kind of humiliation we did.”

Nour, 17, from Idlib, meanwhile is among 22 couples in the camp to meet and marry her now-husband, from coastal Lattakia.

Turkish authorities helped facilitate the weddings by providing the newlyweds with a two-day honeymoon in a hotel for privacy and loaning suits and dresses for the occasions.

“I never expected to get married in the camp, away from my family,” Nour gushed. “ But I liked him.”

She moved out of the tent with her parents and five siblings to share a new matrimonial tent.

Waving goodbye to family and friends after their names were called over a loudspeaker to join buses to Kilis, Mahmoud and his wife Fatima said they expect better facilities for a longer stay. “We are told [the new camp] has proper bathrooms and it’s not so crowded,” Mahmoud said. “I think we will be there for a long time.”

But despite settling into paid work in the area, Mahmoud said he will never give up on returning. “At the end of the day it is not our home.”

“I don’t think we will be here for any less than two years, but I will never settle here.”