“That’s kind of racist, I think”: a collective counter-story to the refugee narrative

Global master narratives portray education as a failsafe route to social integration for refugees yet imply that this makes the refugee more civilized (i.e. White) and thus more desirable. In other words, education becomes a pathway to access Whiteness. In Turkey, which hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, including over three million Syrians, Whiteness is constructed primarily through socioeconomic proximity to Westernness rather than skin color. This paper employs a global critical race theory framework and counter-storytelling methodology to challenge dominant ideologies about refugees and contest intersectional oppression within and beyond higher education through a collective counter-story drawn from critical ethnographic research with 11 Syrian young adults studying in Turkish universities. This counter-story disrupts racialized, xenophobic narratives about refugees dominant within Turkey and beyond. The paper closes with a call to action and reflective questions for those committed to dismantling and transforming hegemonic systems and practices.