Refugee Children’s Drawings: Reflections of Migration and War

Humans have had to immigrate from one country to another throughout the history because of economic problems, warfare, safety, etc. Warfare and migration definitely bring about traumatic incidents for all humanity. However, they are much more destructive for children. The current study aims to review the warfare-and-migration-themed drawings of the Syrian and Palestinian children living in Turkey as refugees in comparison to the Turkish children’s drawings. A case study design was employed as a qualitative methodology. 19 Syrian, 6 Palestinian and 25 Turkish children aged between 6-10 years studying in various primary schools in City of Istanbul made up the study sample. Children were asked to draw pictures of warfare and migration, observed and interviewed for data collection. Content analysis was used to determine the themes present in the qualitative data. The themes identified in the drawings were discussed referring to the literature and recommendations were made.


Introduction
Migration is as old as humanity that has engraved deep marks in minds of individuals and societies both (Deniz, 2009). Migration is defined as the permanent or temporal movement of people from one place to another with the intention of settling in the new location for several reasons (Karatas, 1996). In other words, it is a social movement where people in some places at sometimes voluntarily or forcibly move to another place because of social or political conditions and which results in substantial socio-cultural changes (Family Research Institution, 1998). Today, we are witnessing one of the largest migrations in history as a result of globalization (Durgel & Yagmurlu, 2014) as there are about 244 million immigrants in the world as stated in World Migration Report 2018 published by International Organization for Migration (IOM, 2018). Such waves of migration turn the more homogeneous populations into multi-ethnic ones where different needs of immigrants, guests, foreign students, refugees, etc. arise (Dalhause & Dalhause, 2009). A refugee is a displaced person forced to leave his/her country often with no intention to return because of political, social or religious oppression (Roxas, 2010). Warfare, social, political and religious conflicts, economic depressions and environmental disasters are the compelling reasons for the increasing number of refugees in the world (Betts & Kaytaz, 2009).
Throughout the history, people have immigrated or been forced to immigrate for various reasons. Because of economic problems, shifts in political structure of a country, safety, warfare and aspirations for a better life people may leave all behind and move to another country (Mercan et al., 2016). Civil wars are one of the reasons of international mass migration (Harunogullari, 2016). War has always been the greatest tragedy of humanity (Keegan, 1993). It is a threat to nature and humanity that makes indelible marks lasting for generations (Kefeli, 2003). Warfare is destructive giving irreparable damage, such as injuries and death, especially in the areas close to the battlefield (Oguz et al., 2016). In addition, social and psychological problems may arise because fundamental rights may be suspended or limited during external wars and internal conflicts. People going through these kinds of difficulties often seek refuge in neighboring countries first, as in the case of the migration because of the civil war in Syria. The number of the refugees in Turkey has already exceeded 3.6 million people (The United Nations Refugee Agency [UNHCR], 2019).
Refugees running away from war, conflicts and torture often have go through hard times because they struggle to adapt to changes in daily life (Birman, 2002). First, they have to apply for asylum to receive refugee status soon after they leave their place. Secondly, they have to adapt to the social, cultural and linguistic differences in the new residential area, which may be quite challenging for the refugees (Berry, 1987;Feijen, 2008).
Loss of family members, cultural and linguistic isolation in the new place, ethnical deformation and the absence of physical affinity with the new settlement may result in perceived thwarted belongingness (Garrett, 2006;Goodkind et al., 2014), which may be directly related to bad physical health with the psychological risk it poses. Ellis et al. (2015) claim that unhealthiness in both sexes is consistently associated with the perceived thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Lack of access to healthcare services, including consultancy and general healthcare, is related to high levels of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness.
In a study conducted with Kosovan refugees living in the U.S.A., the self-reported traumatic experiences of the refugees were ordered based on their severity, which are living in refugee camps, insufficient drugs and undernutrition, separation from beloved ones, solitary confinement, loss of a family member, witnessing violence, being subjected to violence, physical injuries, witnessing death and sexual abuse (Bisson & Andrew, 2007). In addition to these traumatic experiences, refugees are exposed to contextual stressors including socioeconomic disadvantages, poverty, difficulties in accessing education, hostility and racism, cultural differences and isolation (Porter & Haslam, 2005;Miller & Rasmussen, 2010). This kind of stressors may have detrimental effects on people seeking refuge, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (Buz, as cited in Seker & Aslan, 2015). The severity of post-traumatic stress disorder is often related to the individual experiences lived away from home (Geltman et al., 2005). Being directly or indirectly exposed to potential traumatic incidents upon arriving in the host country is one of the main reasons for post-traumatic stress disorder (Berthold, Montgomery, Sujoldzic et al., as cited in Fazel et al. 2012). Therefore, refugees who are faced with various difficulties away from their homes are more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Childhood, which is the most critical period in human life, is also a time when one is most susceptible to the effects of social context (Arslan et al., 2009). Children are the most vulnerable group to the negative effects of socio-economic problems, warfare and immigration, which leaves their needs unmet (Mutlu & Kirimsoy, 2016). Warfare has detrimental effects on children because children do not have the physical and cognitive skills to protect themselves in such cases (Yurdakok, 2008). Millions of children who cannot find adequate food, water, energy and medicine have been struggling with famine, disease and poverty. The pressure of such conditions or politics force children live away from their homes and families in refugee camps where they feel alone dealing with an uncertain future seeking refuge (Erden & Gurdil, 2009). Today, half of the refugees around the world are displaced and unaccompanied children (Harunogullari, 2016). Therefore, the effects of warfare on children should be investigated with great caution.
Just like adults, refugee children are faced with various difficulties in their new settlement. Racism, ethno-cultural traumas, being unable to adapt to the host culture and life style, identity issues, less access to services, social support and education are some of the problems that refugee children face (Katz & Redmond, 2010). In addition, low income, uneducated parents and linguistic obstacles may lead to developmental delays and poor academic performance (Tienda & Haskins, 2011). As a result, refugee children are more likely to feel excluded and lose their sense of belonging (Sayin et al., 2016). On the other hand, they are more likely to be exploited, including sexual abuse and enlistment, as they are the one of the most vulnerable groups in the world (Hodgkin & Newell, 2003). These children's right to life is violated in both refugee camps and other places because of hunger, disease, abuse, murder, labor accidents, psychological disorders, child marriages, armed groups and migration to other countries (Turkish Medical Association [TMA], 2014; The United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF], 2016).
The physical and social challenges that refugee children have to deal with to survive are some of the negative results of warfare and immigration. Besides, children who witnessed war directly may develop psychological problems, such as phobias, anxiety and helplessness because surviving in such conditions leaves deep marks in their inner worlds. Their experiences can make them think that they will go through the same traumas, that their parents or themselves will get killed, that they will be alone and defenseless and that they will be punished for their mistakes and they may blame themselves for what happened (American Psychiatric Association, 2000;Dyregrov et al., 2002;Gokler, 2001;Koplewicz. et al., 2002;Pat-Horenczyk et al., 2007;Thabet & Vostanis, 2000;Thabet, Abed & Vostanis, 2004;Yule, 2002). Children having such traumatic experiences are more likely to develop behavioral disorders, depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), linguistic problems, poor academic performance and bedwetting (Alverez, 1998;Aronowitz, 1984;Boneva et al., 1998). Therefore, it is of utmost importance to analyze refugee children's psychological, social and academic problems with multiple perspectives and to provide them with support to improve their quality of life.
In order to improve life conditions of refugee children, a multidimensional analysis is needed as they tend to be shy of talking about their feelings and thoughts. Sometimes they cannot express themselves or they prefer talking about their experiences after some time (Saglam, 2011). Therefore, using children's drawing is a useful way to interpret their experiences because they are good at reflecting their impressions of the physical and social environment they are in (Ring, as cited in Tekin Karagoz & Mamur, 2015). In other words, the images in the drawings of children who have been going through economic, social and cultural difficulties are often shaped by their social surroundings (Karakaya, 2011). A good analysis of children's spontaneous drawings may shed light on their inner worlds and gives detailed information about their perceptions of life (Yavuzer, 2000). Drawing as a type of non-verbal communication is an easy and comfortable way of expression for children who have difficulties in verbal communication due to their age and personality traits as well as a reliable tool for diagnosis (Savas, 2014).

Purpose of the research
The current study aims to review the warfare-and-migration-themed drawings of Syrian and Palestinian children living in Turkey as refugees in comparison to Turkish children's drawings. For that purpose, the themes, symbols and compositions used in refugee and non-refugee children's drawings were compared with respect to the similarities and differences.

Research Model
A case study design was employed as a qualitative methodology. Qualitative research design aims to observe and understand social phenomena in a natural context (Yildirim & Simsek, 2013). A case study design was employed to generate an in-depth analysis of the subject and identify the relationship between the subject and the environment by grasping the whys and the how rather than making judgements (Kohlbacher, 2006) Participants 19 Syrian, 6 Palestinian and 25 Turkish children aged between 6-10 years studying in various primary schools in City of Istanbul made up the study sample. Turkish children were born in Turkey and they weren't refugees. They were selected to compare the drawings of refugee children with their drawings. Thus, the similarities and differences of the symbols used in children's drawings can be seen more clearly.
Homogeneous sampling, which is a purposive technique, was used to retrieve the participants. Homogenenous sampling is used to describe a particular subgroup by forming a relatively small-sized homogenous sampling (Yildirim & Simsek, 2013). Primary grade children who have similar experiences living in similar conditions were selected as the study sample.

Data Collection and Measurement
The data was collected during the second term in the 2018-2019 academic year. The children were asked to draw pictures of warfare and migration after they were interviewed for data collection. The children were not interviewed individually because of the language issues. So, the interviews were accompanied by a translator. The children were informed about the procedures during the interviews. Then, the children were given A4-sized paper and colored pencils and asked to draw pictures with war and immigration themes. They were observed while they were drawing. They also talked about what they were drawing and the researchers took notes. It took about 30-60 minutes for children to finish their drawings. Children's drawings were coded as C1, C2, C3 (Child 3).

Data Analysis
Content analysis was used to determine the themes present in the qualitative data. Content analysis aims to identify the concepts and relationships that can be used to analyze the data (Yildirim & Simsek, 2013). According to Dey (1993), the procedure includes three steps, which are description, categorization and association. First, the drawings were described in detail. Then, they were systematically categorized based on the codes emphasized in the drawings and themes were found accordingly. Finally, the themes in the non-refugee children's drawings were compared to the refugee children's themes. The findings are discussed in the following sections.

Validity and Reliability of the Study
Reliability in qualitative research is based on the reproducibility of the study and the validity of qualitative research indicates the accuracy of the research findings (Yildirim & Simsek, 2013). In order to assure validity and reliability of the study inter-coder reliability and Miles and Huberman's (1994) inter coder reliability formula was used (reliability = agreements / agreements + disagreements). To ensure the reliability of the study, the drawings were examined by the researcher and another researcher and checked comparatively. Data obtained by the researcher were compared with the participation of the second researcher and "coherence" and "consistency" of the data were analyzed. Cohesiveness of two researchers' themes was analyzed by taking into account the principle arguing that qualitative data increases reliability (Yildirim & Simsek, 2013). As a result of reliability calculation, the inter-rater reliability calculation was calculated as 0.90 and it was accepted as reliable. In order to ensure validity, the consistency of the data analysis method with the process was checked in the context of internal validity, and the generalizability of the results reached for external validity was studied. In order to increase the external validity of the research, the research methodology and the activities done in this process are explained in detail.

Findings
The war and migration themes, symbols and compositions used in refugee and non-refugee children's drawings were presented in detail in this section of the study. Table 1 shows the frequencies (f) of the symbols related to the war and immigration themes used by the Syrian and Palestinian children. Most of the refugee children's drawings with war and immigration themes included dead or injured people (19 drawings). Bombing planes (15 drawings), blood (14 drawings) and sad/unhappy people (12 drawings) were also among the most repeating symbols in refugee children's drawings. The least frequently observed symbols were heroes (1 drawing), buses (1 drawing), train (1 drawing) and turtles (1 drawing). The findings presented in Table 1 show that Palestinian and Syrian children tend to use the same symbols for war and immigration themes.

The Reflections of Warfare and Immigration in Refugee Children's Drawings
The symbols used in Syrian and Palestinian refugee children's drawings were coded and divided into subcategories and then they were presented with a conceptual framework (Miles & Huberman, 1994) with frequencies (f) in Table 2.  The themes in Syrian and Palestinian refugee children's drawings related to their war and immigration perceptions were categorized in Table 2. Most of the refugee children's drawings were about death theme (37). Death theme was followed by warfare (28), despair (18), and flags (12). The least frequently observed themes were Nature (11), Immigration (3) and Hope (1). These findings show that warfare and death themes were dominant in Syrian and Palestinian refugee children's drawings emphasizing their negative experiences with war and immigration, such as death and despair. Few children used relatively more positive themes in their drawings, such as nature and hope.
The frequencies of the symbols used in refugee children's drawings with repeating themes children are shown in Table  1 and 2. The analyses of four of the drawings by refugee children are detailed below.

Picture 1. Drawing of the Palestinian refugee child on the theme of war and migration. (C3)
The drawings of Palestinian refugee children included more impressions of warfare rather compared to the symbols of immigration. There is no baseline in the drawing, which means that the elements in the drawings are not placed on a specific ground. Baseline is the dimensioning of a linear distance of the objects on a piece of paper. Starting to use a baseline in drawings is an indicator of a child's emerging awareness that s/he is a part of his/her surroundings and a larger world (Yavuzer, 2000). Therefore, this child probably does not understand his/her relationship to his/her environment and see herself/himself as a part of a larger world. The large plane in the sky is dropping bombs over people. The child has drawn a big structure on the left side of the paper. It is Al-Aqsa Mosque, the holy place for Palestinians and other Muslims all over the world. Drawing it relatively large is an emphasis on its importance. There are two people placed over it, whose duty is to protect it. However, the bombs from the plane fall over them, too. The people in the drawing look unhappy and one of them is crying. There is unhappiness and sadness over people's faces is because of the people dying after bombing, which may imply that they are afraid to suffer the same fate and that they are not able to protect the holy place. There are also two flags in the drawing. Flags symbolize one's sense of belonging to his/her country. Although the child had to leave his country, he is still faithful to it. Palestinian flag is over the Al-Aqsa Mosque while Israelite flag is close to the ground with a red cross over it, which shows that the child thinks it belongs to Palestine, not to Israel.

Picture 2. Drawing of the Palestinian refugee child on the theme of war and migration. (C6)
In another drawing by a Palestinian child, we see fewer colors, with blacks and reds all over the paper. Children tend to draw evil and ugly figures in black (Burkit et al., 2003). Therefore, the child's perceptions of war are evil and ugly. According to Vender (2007), the frequent use of grey, dark brown and black in drawings may be an indicator of depression. The frequent use of red points out a temporal phase of anxiety and emotional tension. The red and black colors dominant in the drawing suggest that the Palestinian child has a depressive mood. There is no baseline in this drawing, too. As stated before, the baseline indicates a child's relation to his/her environment. Therefore, this child does not seem to see himself/herself as a part of his/her surroundings. Similar to the previous drawing, war is a more dominant theme compared to immigration. We can see a big plane dropping bombs over people. The bombing sparks a bloodbath where people are killed and injured. On the right side of the paper, there are enemy soldiers with big weapons aimed at dead and injured people. The suffering and despair of the people caught in the crossfire is obvious. The enemy soldiers smiling may symbolize their cold blood and joy of killing. Another interesting detail is that not all of the body parts of the soldiers and dead people are drawn. According to Yavuzer (2000), by age 7, a child should use some details in his/her figure drawings. That is, they are expected to imply smaller body parts, such as eyes, nose, mouth, hair, hands and feet in addition to the main parts, including head, torso, arms and legs. The owner of the drawing is also 7 years old. However, s/he does not seem to achieve the developmental milestone with respect to drawing. Halmatoy (2015) states that drawing a stickman may imply having difficulties in communication and sometimes being wild and woolly.

Picture 3. Drawing of the Syrian refugee child on the theme of war and migration. (C11)
One of the Syrian children's drawing was drawn in black only. As mentioned before, the dominant use of black suggests that the phenomena that is described in the drawing is perceived as evil and unpleasant by the child. The child thinks that warfare is awful and horrid. In addition, there are not many details of the symbols drawn. Yavuzer (2000) states that children aged 9-12 should draw with more realism and more details. The figures should be dressed and look anatomical with details. However, this child does not seem to meet the developmental milestones although s/he is 10 years old. S/he may have developmental delays because the symbols in the drawing have missing parts, such as child figures without hands, feet, clothes, etc. There is a tall building on the right side of the paper. Living in tall buildings may be a reflection of longing for something and distress. This may be due to the feelings of pressure and crushing that the size of buildings create or the cramped conditions they are living in (Yavuzer, 2000). Children tend to draw a triangle to imply the roof of a building. According to Jung's theory of Analytical psychology, roof is a symbol of safe base (Savas, 2014). The Syrian child did not draw it. Perhaps, s/he thinks that a house is not a safe place without a roof. In the drawing, there is bomb falling over a house. The child also confirmed that by saying, "The planes are dropping gas bombs and the houses are falling apart." In addition, there are no chimneys on top of the houses. Children tend to draw chimneys on the roofs and there is smoke coming out of the chimney no matter what the season is. It shows that there are people living in the house cooking on the stove (Savas, 2014). Therefore, the house without a chimney seemingly does not have any residents. A bomb which is about to hit the house may explain the absence of the roof as he may wish that the residents of the house are not there or they are already killed. There are three kids crying in the drawing. Two of them are close to each other while the other one is close to the house. There are also bombs over these kids. The Syrian child explains that, "The kids are playing football and the other child wants to join them but he can't. The planes are dropping bombs. All the kids are killed." In their daily lives while playing, they find themselves in the middle of chaos with buildings falling apart and bombs falling over them, which are reflections of traumas and devastation.

Picture 4. Drawing of the Syrian refugee child on the theme of war and migration. (C18)
In another drawing by a Syrian refugee child, we see an emphasis on the war theme rather than immigration. There is a baseline in the drawing. Therefore, this child probably understands his/her relation to the world as stated before. As in the other drawings, this drawing also includes bombing planes. The bombs hit the houses and damage them. The house is drawn in faded black with no roofs, which implies that it is vulnerable to external threats. In line with that, a girl standing in the balcony of her house is hit by a bomb and killed. The house does not have a chimney either. As mentioned earlier, this house does not seem to have any inhabitants any more or they are all dead. The child stated that the other person in the drawing is the mother of the girl in the balcony. The mother is also killed because of gunfire.
There is a graveyard on the top left of the paper where the girl and her mother are buried. The child shows his/her interpretation of death with details, such as bleeding wounds, the graveyard with headstones. Table 3 shows the frequencies (f) of the symbols related to the war and immigration themes used by the Turkish children. Most of the refugee children's drawings with war and immigration themes included grass (17 drawings). Happy faces (15 drawings), sad faces (13 drawings), sun (13 drawings) and clouds (11 drawings) were also among the most repeating symbols in Turkish children's drawings. The least frequently observed symbols were blood (3 drawings), suitcase (1 drawing), fire (1 drawing), earthquake (1 drawing) and birds (1 drawing). The findings presented in Table 3 show that Turkish children tend to have differing representations for war and immigration themes. In other words, the symbols that the Turkish children used are quite different from those of refugee children.

The Reflections of Warfare and Immigration in Turkish Children's Drawings
The symbols used in Turkish children's drawings were coded and divided into subcategories and then they were presented with a conceptual framework (Miles & Huberman, 1994) with frequencies (f) in Table 4. The themes Turkish children's drawings related to their war and immigration perceptions were categorized in Table 4. Most of the drawings were about nature theme (55). Nature theme was followed by warfare (24), hope (15), and despair (13) themes. The least frequently observed themes were Immigration (12) and Death (9). These findings show that nature and warfare themes were dominant in Turkish children's drawings. Most of the children addressed relatively more positive themes in their drawings, such as nature and hope. Few children focused on the negative themes, such as death and despair.
The frequencies of the symbols used in refugee children's drawings with repeating themes children are shown in Table  3 and 4. The analysis of four of the drawings by the Turkish children are detailed below.

Picture 5. Drawing of the Turkish child on the theme of war and migration. (C29)
International Journal of Educational Methodology  489 When we look at the drawing by a Turkish child, we see more symbols for war rather than immigration. However, when we look closely at it, we do not see any symbols for war except for the armed people shooting at each other. The people shooting guns and the dead people lying on the ground are all smiling. In real life, one cannot see happiness in people's faces in the middle of a battlefield but horror, pain and grief. Therefore, the child seems to use his imagination for the symbols of the war instead of his experiences. We see various bright colors. According to Burkit et al. (2003), children tend to use more colors for the figures they like and moderate colors when they feel neutral about something. Therefore, we can conclude that the child's perceptions of war are rather neutral and far from being negative and dreadful. There is a baseline colored in green, which shows that the child sees herself/himself as a part of the world. We can see natural elements like the sun, clouds and birds. The sun is a symbol of mother. A child cannot exist without his/her mother just like the Earth that cannot exist without the Sun. Sunny weather, clouds with light colors and birds represent happiness and joy of life (Savas, 2014). Therefore, the child seems to have positive feelings and mood (happiness, joy, etc.), which are reflected in his/her drawing.

Picture 6. Drawing of the Turkish child on the theme of war and migration. (C34)
In another drawing by a Turkish child, we see both warfare and immigration. There are cars trying to escape from the armed people shooting at them. S/he wants to emphasize the symbols of the immigration following the war. There are no symbols of war in the drawing except for the armed people. S/he also tries to dilute the impact of the symbols by saying, "Their guns don't work because it's raining. Therefore, they cannot fire. So, the cars are able to run away." We see bright colors. As stated before, the warfare and immigration seem to evoke neutral feelings. The sky and ground are separated with colored lines. The elements in the drawing are placed below the baseline, which shows that the child has a sense of belonging to his/her environment. The cars as a symbol of immigration go from left to right. By age 7, children become more aware of time, space, and real life and future becomes more important than the past (Savas, 2014). We can also see trees in different sizes. According to Halmatov (2015), drawing a tree represents the unconsciously drawn self-portrait of the person. Drawing more than one tree may suggest that the child is worried about the existence (pressure) of the others. The trees with cut down trunks and branches give clues for destruction, sense of being lost and negative self-perception. So, the slanted trees, which are called "destroyed" by the child, seem to represent the destruction and losses caused by war.

Picture 7. Drawing of the Turkish child on the theme of war and migration. (C39)
We can see a blend of the warfare and immigration themes in this drawing by a Turkish child. The symbols of war are placed on top of the paper and the immigration symbols are on the bottom. The people immigrating to other places are described across the paper. We can also see a description of a front line. The child says that it is the War of Independence where Turkish and Russian soldiers are fighting, which means that the child does not have real-life experience of war and his/her reflections have been shaped by what s/he learned from the lectures on history, TV series, etc. In the bottom part of the drawing, we see a carriage as a symbol of immigration, which also implies the impression of historical elements. The child, who is 9 years-old, has not imply the pupils in the eyes of the figures. However, by age 7, children should be able to draw eyes with pupils. The absence of pupils may be an indicator of incompetence in communication, lacking interest in one's surroundings and withdrawal (Altinkopru, 2003).

Picture 8. Drawing of the Turkish child on the theme of war and migration. (C43)
In another drawing by a Turkish child, we see relatively faint colors like browns and blues. The dominant use of brown may suggest the need for protection, care and affection while blue is an indicator of tranquility and harmony. Blue may also symbolize being neutral (Savas, 2014) as children tend to use moderate colors when they feel impartial about something. Therefore, it seems that the child remains neutral about war. However, the battleships being sunk by cannon fire are far from the battles of today. The child confirms the historical quality of the symbols by saying that the drawing represents the Gallipoli Campaign taking place between the national forces and the enemy. We see quite a lot of details, including the buttons on the soldiers' uniforms, dropping of anchors and the wheels of the cannon carriages. According to Yavuzer (2000), the drawings by 9-12-year-old children are more detailed and realistic. Here, we see quite detailed figures that look to have better anatomical proportions with clothes on them. Therefore, we can conclude that the child meets the milestones for his or her age.

Discussion
Warfare definitely brings about traumatic incidents for all humanity. However, it is much more destructive for children.
Children are the most vulnerable group to the negative effects of socio-economic problems, warfare and immigration (Mutlu & Kirimsoy, 2016). It is commonly observed that refugee children, also, have post trauma stress disorders, depression, and anxiety resulting from former their experiences. Some children may not be able to adapt the education system of either countries (home and target countries) (Seker & Aslan, 2015). A study conducted on children living in refugee camps in Turkey reported that the post-traumatic stress symptom rate was 45% (Ozer et al., 2016). A large majority of the children participating in the study of Yayan (2018) suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. High level post-traumatic stress disorder was observed among children and adolescents who were living in conflict regions. Therefore, the effects of warfare on children should be investigated with great caution.
Warfare was more dominant in the drawings by refugee children compared to the immigration theme whereas the drawings by the Turkish children included both warfare and immigration themes equally. Research shows that (Hodes, 2000;Rutter, 2003) losing beloved ones, violence and torture are some of the experiences that have a negative impact on children's and adolescents' development. Drawing as a projective technique helps us to identify and understand the experiences that have a negative effect on development. From a Freudian perspective, war as a traumatic experience may deactivate the defense mechanisms and the ego may not be able to cope with the trauma. As a result, traumatic experiences overloading the ego decrease the adaptation capacity of person, which leads to the rise of obsession-like defense mechanisms, including the recurrence of the disturbing experience in dissociative periods or dreams (Kaptanoglu, 1991). In other words, the refugee children's experiences with war seems to be more traumatic compared to their experiences related to the immigration theme. On the other hand, the Turkish children, who do not have any experiences with war and immigration themes similar to those of the refugees, have represented both themes equally in their drawings.
While the refugee children represented the conflicts in their own countries, the Turkish children's reflections of war were about the national wars in the history of Turkey, such as Gallipoli Campaign and War of Independence. Most of the Palestinian children represented the Al-Aqsa Mosque under the control of Israeli soldiers. Similarly, the Syrian children depicted the battles, planes, bombs, destruction of houses, dead and injured people. However, most of the Turkish children drew outdated weapons, such as swords and cannonballs in frontiers. That is, the Turkish children's reflections on war was more like depictions of historical element rather than witnessing war as in the case of the Syrian and Palestinian refugee children.
The symbols used by the refugee children were more explicit and similar across the drawings (dead and injured people, planes dropping bombs, blood, etc.). However, the symbols used by the Turkish children were quite different and distinctive. Some of the children depicted soldiers with swords while some of them drew cannon carriages. This is because the Syrian and Palestinian children internalized the reality by witnessing war whereas Turkish children used their individual images of war in their minds. Similar results were found in a study by Ozer et al. (2018). While the Turkish (not war exposed) children had many figures in their war drawings, they tended to be stick soldier figures or historic figures like pirates, etc. In contrast; the drawings of the Syrian (war exposed) children had many realistic weapons and destruction, implying differences in how the groups conceptualized war (Ozer et al., 2018). The research conducted with Israeli children indicated that war-exposed children focused more on concrete aspects of war and negative emotions compared to peers who had not been exposed to war (Raviv et al., 1999).
We see an imbalance between the powerful and the weak in the drawings by refugee children. There are civilians and children who are killed by the enemy soldiers and planes dropping bombs. The other people in the drawings are sad and have nothing to do but they are also in horror as they know they are next to be killed, which may indicate the learned helplessness among the children. They seem to think that the enemy is invincible and they can do nothing but mourn for their loss. In other words, we often see a hopeless atmosphere in their drawings. On the other hand, both parties seem to be equally powerful in the drawings by Turkish children as we see battle scenes rather than a one-way attack. In Turkish children's drawings, we see that Turkish soldiers fight back and when they cannot, they immigrate. Therefore, it is rather optimistic. Perhaps, it is inspired by the victories of Gallipoli Campaign or War of Independence.
Another difference between the drawings by Turkish and refugee children is the flags. While most of the refugee children had a flag as a symbol in their drawings, the Turkish children rarely used it (3 drawings). A flag implies a sense of belonging to one's country representing national identity. The refugee children may have felt the need to show their sense of belonging to their own countries by drawing flags as they are physically separated from their land. However, Turkish children do not seem to show their feelings for their country as they already live in their homeland.
Most of the refugee children did not have a baseline in their drawings (17 drawings). As stated before, a baseline represents one's awareness of the fact that he or she is a part of a larger world. Therefore, it is safe to say that most refugee children do not consider themselves a part of their surroundings, which is further supported by their drawings of the people, objects or places in their own countries to which they still feel attached, such as the drawings of the flag of Palestine and Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Palestinian children and the flag of Syria by the Syrian children. On the other hand, all of the Turkish children had a baseline in their drawings, which shows that they do not seem to have any problems with their belongingness to their environment.
Another difference between the two groups is that most of the Turkish children included natural elements, such as sun, clouds, trees, flowers, butterflies and birds, in their drawings unlike the refugee children who rarely used such symbols. Sunny and fair weather, white clouds and birds often represent happiness and the joy of life (Savas, 2014). So, most of the Turkish children seem to have positive feelings (happiness, joy, etc.) which they represented with the abovementioned symbols in their drawings. Children and adolescents who had experienced war described it as 'destruction' and 'hopelessness, death and suffering', respectively (Myers-Bowman et al., 2005). Having worked in refugee camps psychiatrist Dr. Hemamali Perera reports "In drawings by refugee children, one cannot see the sun, trees, flowers or birds which are symbols of optimism and hope. In addition, there are no schools, sanctuaries or shops. All you can see is anger, hatred, despair, bombing scenes and death." (as cited in Savas, 2014). A study by Maagero and Sunde (2016), the children were asked to describe the meaning of 'happiness' and 'fear' via drawing. Findings show that all children, Palestinians and Norwegians indicated that 'happy' for them is flowers, tress, a bright sun, family, and friends. Within the group of Palestinian children, 17 of the 29 children drew a house for 'happiness'; 6 children drew toys and 11 drew grass and trees. An interesting finding was that six children drew dark houses and dark windows associating them to fear, while two Palestinian children made representations of war, stating that they were scared.
In addition, the use of colors differed significantly between the two groups. The refugee children used rather dark colors, especially black, for overall drawing, except for some symbols (blood, flags, Al-Aqsa Mosque, etc.). Turkish children, on the other hand, preferred to use various bright colors. The use of colors is quite important for interpreting drawings by children, as there seems to be a relation between emotional reactions and colors. Fund (2002) states that children are not interested in using all colors equally. The most frequently used colors were purple, red, yellow and blue by 5-8-year-old children while black, white, grey and dark brown were considered unattractive. However, the refugee children tended to use "unattractive" colors, such as black, for their age for the figures they perceive as evil, ugly and negative (Burkit et al., 2003). They also used lots of brown, grey and black, which indicates depression (Vender, 2007) and pessimism (Savas, 2014). The use of relatively bright or moderate colors in drawings by the Turkish children is in line with normal developmental milestones (Furt, 2002) and shows that they have positive or neutral perceptions of the figures they draw (Burkit, 2003). In the study of Jabbar and Betawi (2019), peace drawings had cheerful colors such as blue and green, indicating happiness and calmness, they also, at the same time, had dark colors such as faint red for a house which indicates that the child is angry yet trying to be as calm as possible; another child in a peace drawing had a lot of red in it, indicating intense anger. Therefore, Turkish children are quite neutral about war and immigration unlike the refugee children who have unpleasant experiences with and reflections on war. Most of the drawings by the refugee children have a depressive and pessimistic atmosphere. Children who are exposed to the negative effects of warfare and immigration are more likely to experience fears, anxiety and despair as living in such conditions leaves deep marks on their inner worlds (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000; Dyregrov et al., 2002;Gokler, 2001;Koplewicz et al., 2002;Pat-Horenczyk et al., 2007).
Refugee children are among the groups who are more likely to suffer from poor health conditions, anxiety, insecurity, hyper-alertness, focusing problems and post-traumatic stress disorder (Seker & Aslan, 2015). In short, warfare and immigration does more to humanity than causing the death and injury of thousands of people, economic loss, destruction of historical and cultural heritage and leaving children unprotected (Cirakoglu, 2003). As children seeking refuge are the most vulnerable group to be harmed, policymakers should pay attention to relieving children of the negative impacts of warfare.

Conclusion
Throughout history, humans have been immigrating willingly or forcibly for many reasons. Today, war is one of the main reasons for migration. According to Balci (2014), the battlefield is not silent and war is a scream where all griefs are visible with the screams of adults, children, soldiers and weapons are intertwined. However, children's griefs are the most heartbreaking one. The results of the current study which aims to review the warfare-and-migration-themed drawings of the Syrian and Palestinian children living in Turkey as refugees in comparison to the Turkish children's drawings shows that there are significant differences between the two groups' representations of war and immigration. Children's drawings contain significant differences in terms of theme, composition, colors, symbols, emotions, and drawing techniques.

Recommendations
The following recommendations are proposed in line with the findings of the current study; a. One of the most important problems of refugees is integration. In addition to meeting the basic needs of the refugee families to improve their living conditions, they should be supported to adapt to their new place.
b. The most important problem in integrating children to their environment is the language problem. A psychological guidance and counselling system in their native language should be developed to provide the refugee children and their families who suffer from the negative effects of warfare and immigration.
c. The psychological counselling and support should be designed considering the nonuniform characteristics of the families.
d. Refugee children should be included in projective art activities, such as drama and drawing that can help to promote their psychological well-being. For this reason, it is necessary to provide environment and materials for methods such as play therapy, sand therapy, art therapy, etc.
e. Psychological counsellors at schools should be active in the counselling and guidance provided to refugee children.
f. Psychological counsellors at schools should be provided with training and information about the social and psychological conditions in which refugee children live. Post-traumatic interventions training (for example; psychological first aid, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, stress management techniques) can be given to the psychological counsellors.
g. Individual and social diversity should be a topic for discussion at school to prevent the exclusion, isolation and alienation of refugee children. In this regard, teachers should create a safe environment in the class and do classroom activities with group.

Limitations
As well, there are some limitations to this study. This study is limited to the drawings to the students participated in this study. Drawing pictures is a projective technique, so it can give different results in different children. For this reason, if the research is conducted with other refugee children, the result may change. This research is also limited to children 6-10 years old. It is different for every age child to be affected by migration. Another limitation of the research is the language problem of the participants. The children were not interviewed individually because of the language issues. So, the interviews were accompanied by a translator. For this reason, in-depth interviews with children could not be made.