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For Syrian Refugees in Russia, Little Hope for Asylum

February 25, 2015 | Pulitzer Center
By
Holly Pickett

Yasser, center, a 23-year-old Syrian refugee, at his home with his brother Ahmed, 16, left, and father Abu Yasser, right, in Noginsk, Russia. Yasser came to Noginsk with his father in 2008 to work as a tailor in one of the Syrian-operated textile factories in this town just outside of Moscow. Now Yasser and his family are stuck, with little support and no hope of asylum. Image by Holly Pickett. Russia, 2014.

Abu Yasser sets the table for lunch at the family's home in Noginsk, Russia. The rest of Yasser's family came after the conflict in Syria started in 2011. His family's home, in the neighborhood of Salahadin in Aleppo, was destroyed by shelling in 2012. Image by Holly Pickett. Russia, 2014.

Yasser, a 25-year-old Syrian refugee, and his parents and siblings live in this apartment building in Noginsk, Russia. After the war started, some factory owners stopped paying their Syrian workers on time. They also stopped assisting them when they were harassed and forced to pay bribes by Russian police. Image by Holly Pickett. Russia, 2014.

Syrian textile factory owners and businessmen meet in the restaurant of the Globe Hotel to make deals in Moscow. Since the war in Syria began, factory owners do not always pay their workers on time, and Syrian workers face police harassment for bribes. work visas are more difficult to obtain. Image by Holly Pickett. Russia, 2014.

A belly dancer moves in front of a mirror while Syrian textile factory owners and businessmen network and make deals in the restaurant of the Globe Hotel in Moscow. At least one of the owners present denied that he was withholding payment from his workers, but instead blamed the Russian government for making it more difficult to obtain work visas after the war started. Image by Holly Pickett. Russia, 2014.

Syrian tailors, mostly from the city of Aleppo, sew pullovers at a Syrian-owned textile factory near Noginsk, Russia. Some of the workers came to Russia after the war in Syria started, but according to human rights workers, asylum for refugees in Russia is next to impossible, despite decades of political cooperation and cultural and economic exchange between the two countries. Image by Holly Pickett. Russia, 2014.

Noori sews pullovers at a Syrian-owned textile factory near Noginsk, Russia. Around 50 Syrians from Aleppo work in this factory. Image by Holly Pickett. Russia, 2014.

Muhammad, a 27-year-old tailor who came to Russia from Aleppo almost two years ago, sews pullovers at a Syrian-owned textile factory near Noginsk, Russia. Image by Holly Pickett. Russia, 2014.

Pedestrians in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. Human rights workers estimate that there are currently between 10,000 and 20,000 Syrians in Russia, with virtually no chance of asylum. If they are unable to obtain a work visa, they can apply for temporary asylum, but this provides neither stability nor social services. Temporary asylum must be renewed each year, and if it is denied, the applicant can be arrested, jailed, and deported. Refugees in Russia who cannot return to Syria can become trapped there while losing their legal status. Image by Holly Pickett. Russia, 2014.

Human rights workers estimate that between 10,000 and 20,000 Syrian refugees reside in Russia, where there is no hope for asylum, or even legal status. Many came to work as tailors in Syrian-owned textile factories in Noginsk, a town 20 miles from Moscow, but now find themselves trapped and facing exploitation from factory owners and from the Russian police.