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Mashriq & Mahjar 11, no. 2 (2024), 157–159
ISSN 2169-4435
SANİYE DEDEOĞLU, Syrian Refugees and Agriculture in
Turkey: Work, Precarity, Survival (London: I. B. Tauris, 2022).
Pp. 165. $120.00 cloth, $39.95 paper. ISBN 9780755634491.
REVIEWED BY DENİZ PELEK, Assistant Professor, Izmir
Democracy University, email: deniz.pelek@idu.edu.tr
Dedeoğlu’s book is an important study for understanding the evolving
dynamics of the labor market and gender relations in rural areas
following the involvement of Syrian refugees as seasonal migrant
workers. She argues that global agricultural production relies on
various forms of labor with intersecting vulnerabilities and labor
control practices that lead to bonded labor. This book addresses the
question: “Under what conditions does precarization occur for workers
in Turkey’s agricultural labor? and how does women’s and children’s
labor play a central role in the precarization of Syrians in a work regime
that continuously seeks paths to bond labor” (1).
The main argument states that “the influx of Syrian refugees has
led to the further precarization of agricultural labor in Turkey since
Syrian agricultural worker families practice family-based work
arrangements in which fathers/husbands wield patriarchal control
more aggressively over women and children who disproportionately
work in seasonal harvesting cycles” (5–6). Thus, productive work in
agricultural fields and reproductive work of women are interlinked
and contribute to the subsidization of capital and ultra-exploitation of
migrant labor.
This study is based on fieldwork that lasted four years and took
place in different rural areas in Turkey between 2015 and 2019.
Methodologically, Dedeoğlu combines quantitative (statistics) and
qualitative (interviews) methods with fieldwork photographs to enable
readers to visualize the lives of Syrian refugees in Turkey. This book is
structured around six chapters.
Following the introduction that frames objectives, research
questions, arguments, methodology, and the plan of the book, chapter
2 discusses the theoretical concept of precarization by focusing on the
158 Mashriq & Mahjar 11, no. 2 (2024)
intricate relationship between production and social reproduction.
Dedeoğlu uses the term “feminization of precarity” and explains the
increasing need for women in the agricultural workforce, care-related
duties, and housework. Women and children are an in-demand
because their wages are usually cheaper, and this enforces the ability
of refugee families to compete in the market. This chapter provides
substantial theoretical tools to understand how gender and refugee
labor interplay in the case of seasonal agricultural workers.
Chapter 3 provides an overview of how the new migrant
influxes have shaped seasonal agricultural labor and the precarization
of immigrant workers in Turkey. This chapter introduces traditional
forms of labor practices and changing labor structure with new migrant
flows from Georgia and Azerbaijan as well as from Syria and
Afghanistan. Chapter four focuses on Syrian refugees and outlines
their temporary protection status and work permits, demographic
characteristics, and integration into the agricultural labor market. In
particular, Dedeoğlu underscores how the refugees’ harsh working
conditions and low wages position them as the lowest rank in the
seasonal agricultural workers’ hierarchy.
Chapter 5 and 6 delve into the book’s argument, discussing the
main assumptions outlined in the introduction. Dedeoğlu applies
“intersecting vulnerabilities,” a term based on feminist theory, to
analyze women’s roles in production and social reproduction and their
contributions to the household as low-cost workers in the competition
for jobs. According to the author, Turkish employers prefer to hire
women and young girls because they are seen as hard-working and
easily controllable, making them “ideal” workers. Indeed, once the
work is completed, male labor intermediaries, after cutting their
commission, give the total payment to the male head of the household,
ensuring that women and children have no control over their earned
wages. And women’s work does not end with their agricultural labor;
work continues in tents where workers reside, as women cook, clean,
care for children, and complete other domestic tasks.
Chapter 6 considers the recruitment, remuneration, and
retention (3Rs) to bond labor to seasonal agricultural work. Here, the
role of labor intermediaries is crucial. They initiate work relations by
establishing contact with employers and workers, making them key
players in recruitment. The labor intermediaries provide
transportation to workers and assist them with accessing healthcare
services and overcoming language barriers, as they can communicate
with both employers and Syrian refugees (109). However, these roles
render Syrian refugees dependent on labor intermediaries. Workers are
Reviews 159
isolated in tent camps and thereby restricted from accessing alternative
job opportunities and city centers during the retention process. In the
remuneration phase, labor intermediaries exert control over workers in
return for salaries, whether in day wages or piece rates. Subsequently,
labor intermediaries, after deducting their commission, deliver the
money to the head of the household or issue wage cards as proof of
their working days for the final payment. Instances of delayed
payments, wage withholdings, and non-payment after work are
frequently reported. In the context of Turkey’s seasonal agricultural
work, Dedeoğlu argues that the 3Rs constitute a new labor regime that
can be characterized by control over workers through recruitment,
retention, and remuneration. This conceptualization of bonded labor
provides a new perspective for understanding the liminality and
overlaps between free and unfree labor. Moreover, this argument can
be developed in further studies since Syrian refugees are not
necessarily bonded with debt or other types of extra-economic
coercion, such as prison or enslaved labor (as described in the
literature).
Overall, this book contributes significantly to the literature on
migration as well as female and child labor. Scholars from gender
studies, agrarian studies, migration, and labor studies can benefit
greatly from this extensive research.
