Immigrants In Turkey Research Articles

Struggles and Dilemmas of Uyghur Immigrants in Turkey

The social and economic integration of the Uyghurs into Turkish society reflects a problem to which policy makers have not yet found a response. Marginalized by the larger society and separated by linguistic differences and cultural and social life-styles, a significant proportion of Uyghurs, especially “newcomers” who have arrived since the 1980s, is in danger of becoming part of a “parallel society.” This is reinforced by exclusion, inferiorization and “otherness,” restricted educational achievements, uncertain citizenship, legal status limbo and low socioeconomic status. Pro-Uyghur, pro-independence and anti-Chinese government mobilization in Turkey has attracted the attention of Chinese authorities for a long time, and this attention has in turn affected and shaped mobilization in Turkey. The Turkey-China relationship is involved as well. The main goals of Chinese policy and strategy in Turkey are the security of “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region” (a.k.a. East Turkistan), access to natural resources, security of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and economic and technological investment. It means that China believes it must consolidate its control of “Xinjiang” (East Turkistan) and restrain the Uyghur independence movement in Turkey. China’s economic and technological power and investments in Turkey are not just increasing its influence; they are making Turkey far more reticent to speak out about Beijing’s abuses, systematic oppression and atrocities in the “Xinjiang” (East Turkistan). China’s geo-economic strategy has resulted in political influence in Turkey that profoundly affects its Uyghur population.

Georgian immigrant women in Turkey: Ankara case

This study addresses post-socialist Georgian immigrant women’s lives and experiences as immigrants in Turkey. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many post-Soviet countries had serious threats in terms of economic development and political stability. These countries had to face with high unemployment and privatization because of these problems and also Georgia has been influenced due to these problems. In this way, especially, women of Georgia who try to find better ways for their economic conditions had to leave their homes, families and become a hero for their countries. Georgian female migrants have endured at least two enormous politico-economic changes in their lives: first, the transition from Soviet Georgia to a post-socialist, free market economy; second, the transition from Georgia to Turkey. Georgian women started to migrate since the 1990s to Turkey and Turkey has been a popular destination country for Georgian immigrant women. The reasons are the geographical closeness and flexible visa regime between Georgia and Turkey. The aim of this study is to listen to the personal experiences of immigrant women themselves, understand their working conditions and social life experiences in Turkey.

The role of positive and negative contact of migrants with native people in affecting their future interactions. Evidence from Italy and Turkey

This research investigates the relationship between different valence contact of migrants with native people and their motivation to avoid further interactions with the majority group, as a preventing factor of adaptation by either side. Specifically, the joint and differential effects of positive and negative contact of migrants with natives on outgroup avoidance were addressed by examining also the mediating role of affective variables such as stereotype threat, symbolic threat and anxiety. Hypotheses were tested on two samples of African immigrants in Italy and Syrian immigrants in Turkey. Positive contact was not associated with outgroup avoidance and anxiety among African respondents who reported higher negative contact with natives. This evidence was not found among Syrian immigrants. In both samples, however, the moderating role of negative contact was found on stereotype threat. Across the two samples, anxiety was the strongest mediator of the relationship between negative contact of migrants on their avoidance of the majority group. Overall, the evidence we gathered furthers knowledge of the impact of negative intergroup contact on preventing migrant social integration.

Why Turkey? Afghans heartwarming migrating destination

In the latest year, Turkey is the destination country for illegal Afghan migrants, as Directorate general of migration management of Turkey report shows that Afghanistan has a high number of the illegal migrants in Turkey in 2019. (7) This study concentrated to determine the factors associated with the area of destination (pulling factors), social demography of immigrants, income comparison, satisfaction, and re-integration of Afghan illegal migrants in Turkey in the last five years. The data collected by a well-structured questionnaire and applied to 384 illegal Afghan immigrants in Turkey (Istanbul, & Ankara) during June, 2019. The finding shows that Security 9.14, rights (women rights 8.52, human rights 8.43) and desire of having more regular life are the main reasons that attracts migrants. Dis-satisfaction of being in Turkey and being dis-agree to re-integrate back to Afghanistan is the finding of this research.

Syrian immigrants in Turkey: services, satisfaction and suggestions for policy-making

Due to the 8 years’ war in Syria, Turkey faced the immigration of more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees. About a million of them are settled in the region Çukurova. Allthough most of them do not have a permanent residence permit it may be expected that a vast number of these Syrian migrants will settle permanently. The majority of this immigrant population is non or low-educated; they rarely participate in education programmes and intercultural communication disorders with the local community and societal tensions occur. Surveys have been conducted among adult Syrian immigrants living in Çukurova in order to identify whether their satisfaction about local services. Secondly, services and communication strategies of public institutions, municipalities and NGOs in the Adana, the main city in the region have been analysed in order to identify the range and effects of their services. Assuming that a lack of integration and intercultural communication disorders cause disturbance in the local communities, this study aims to investigate possible solutions - with the use of the integration policy of the Netherlands – in order to prevent societal unrest.

Etnomüzikoloji disiplininin gelişim süreci ve Türkiye’de yapılan çalışmalar ışığında Martin Stokes’un popüler müzik araştırmalarının incelenmesi

Etnomüzikoloji disiplininin gelişim süreci ve Türkiye’de yapılan çalışmalar ışığında Martin Stokes’un popüler müzik araştırmalarının incelenmesi

Effects of Religious Participation on Social Inclusion and Existential Well-Being Levels of Muslim Refugees and Immigrants in Turkey

ABSTRACT Being a refugee or immigrant brings many difficulties that can detrimentally affect well-being. Participation in social life and feeling included in the host country can play an important role on well-being. This article aims to investigate the effects of religious participation and social inclusion on well-being levels of refugees and immigrants. Data were collected from 97 participants who were enrolled in voluntary Turkish language courses for refugees in Istanbul. Results of path analysis indicated that religious participation enhanced the level of social inclusion and social inclusion fostered existential well-being. Although religious participation demonstrated no direct effects on existential well-being, it showed a significant and positive indirect effect through social inclusion. Results of difference tests indicated that participants with higher level of education attended to religious activities significantly more often and their existential well-being and social inclusion levels were higher as well. Results also demonstrated that social inclusion scores of high attenders (to religious activities) were significantly higher.

Immigrant Entrepreneurship in an Emerging Economy: The Case of Turkey

This paper examines motivations for, and paths to, entrepreneurship among immigrants in Turkey based on interviews with 22 immigrant entrepreneurs in Istanbul. Findings suggest that immigrant entrepreneurs in a developing economy may be different from their counterparts in well‐established economies. First, immigrant entrepreneurs rely on their unique human and social capital in the process of starting businesses thanks to their ability to identify opportunities based on insider knowledge of the market in their home and host countries. Second, their ability to foster trusting relationships thanks to language, cultural, and religious knowledge permits immigrant entrepreneurs in an emerging economy to engage in less economically marginal activities.

Reasons for the Movement of Female Immigrants to the Republic of Turkey: Research and Analysis

The article presents the results of studies on reasons why female immigrants coming to Turkey as well as basic problems for married female immigrants in Turkey. The article has presented several groups of female immigrants and reasons why female immigrants coming to Turkey. The first group were married female immigrants who gave their reason for coming to Turkey as marriage; the second group were female labor immigrants who came to Turkey seeking work; and the third group were females who wanted to work but they were, or may have been, members or victims of criminal organizations. According to the results of the article, female immigrants face many challenges in the country, within their families and in outside society. Female immigrants, who are considering living in Turkey for any length of time or even for forever, should understand and analyze all possible difficulties and challenges that may arise in their lives in Turkey. At the same time, the country holds wonderful prospects for developing female immigrants and the most important thing is for them to find the means of benefitting from all that is offered.

Ankara’daki İran Restoranları: Kültürel Kimlik Üzerine Etnografik Bir Araştırma (Iranian Restaurants in Ankara: An Ethnographical Research on Cultural Identity)

Turkish Abstract: Etnik restoranlar, insan hareketliliginin boylesine arttigi bir donemde, hem kulturel korumanin kurumsallasmis bicimleridir hem de tuketim uzerinden farkli kulturlerin bulusma mekânidir. Bir gocmen ulkesi olan Turkiye’de de uluslararasi gocmenlerin actiklari etnik restoran sayisinda artis vardir. Bu makalede, yemek, kulturel kimlik ve gocmen restoranlari arasindaki dinamik iliski Ankara’daki Iran restoranlari orneginde ortaya konmaya calisiliyor. Bunu yaparken restoranlar sahipleri, araci yapilar ve musterilerle yapilan gorusmelerin kayitlarindan ve katilimli gozlem notlarindan yararlaniliyor. Calismada, mekânsal bir kumelenme gostererek tuketimin yeni bir cografyasini yaratan Iran restoranlarinin sadece etnisite uzerinden degil, sinif ve toplumsal cinsiyet uzerinden de kendi kurumsal yapisini gelistirdigi ve kulturel koruma fonksiyonunu bu yapilar uzerinden insa ettigi gorulmustur. English Abstract: Ethnic restaurants are not only institutionalized forms of cultural protection, but also melting points of different cultures through consumption in a period of such an increasing human mobility. There is also an increase in the number of ethnic restaurants opened by transnational immigrants in Turkey, an immigrantreceiving country. In this article, the dynamic relation between food, cultural identity and immigrant restaurants is tried to be revealed based on the example of Iranian restaurants in Ankara. While doing this, records of the interviews made with restaurant owners, intermediating entities and customers and participant observation notes were utilized. In this field research, it was observed that the Iranian restaurants, which have created a new geography of consumption by showing a spatial aggregation, have developed their own corporate structures not only based on ethnicity, but also on the class and gender and that they have built their cultural preservation function based on these structures.

Ankara’daki İran Restoranları: Kültürel Kimlik Üzerine Etnografik Bir Araştırma

Ethnic restaurants are not only institutionalized forms of cultural protection, but also melting points of different cultures through consumption in a period of such an increasing human mobility. There is also an increase in the number of ethnic restaurants opened by transnational immigrants in Turkey, an immigrantreceiving country. In this article, the dynamic relation between food, cultural identity and immigrant restaurants is tried to be revealed based on the example of Iranian restaurants in Ankara. While doing this, records of the interviews made with restaurant owners, intermediating entities and customers and participant observation notes were utilized. In this field research, it was observed that the Iranian restaurants, which have created a new geography of consumption by showing a spatial aggregation, have developed their own corporate structures not only based on ethnicity, but also on the class and gender and that they have built their cultural preservation function based on these structures

Russian Immigrant Diaspora in Turkey: Language Use, Preference and Attitudes

Although Turkey houses various immigrant groups, still not much is known about them. To this end, this study aims to initiate a report of a particular group of immigrants residing in Turkey. Specifically, we focus on the language use, preference and attitudes of Russian immigrants in Turkey in the belief that communication processes lie at the heart of the acculturation processes and reflect the degree to which immigrants adapt to the host society. The data have been collected from 109 Russians permanently residing in Turkey through a questionnaire and interviews. Our findings suggest that the Russian diaspora reveals a pure sample of integration to the Turkish host society and they can be defined as “bi-dominant,” that is, capable of using the two languages jointly depending on their needs and communicational contexts, and as “bi-cultural,” that is, acculturated into the Turkish host culture while at the same time retaining their Russian roots.

Migration and Power Politics: The Settlement of Georgian Immigrants in Turkey (1878–1908)

This study is an examination of the relationship between migration and politics, focusing on the case of Georgian immigrants settled in the central Black Sea districts of Ottoman Turkey during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Based on the extensive use of Ottoman and British archival material as well as interviews conducted in the region, the study reveals insights into the intriguing power politics behind migration in the Ottoman Empire. Scrutinizing certain characteristics of the settlement process, it also demonstrates the complex imperial network of power that linked the most distant border districts of the Batum-Çürüksu (modern Kobuleti) region of Ottoman Caucasus directly to Istanbul via the Black Sea region of Ordu. The central argument of the study is that the leader of the immigrant group, namely Çürüksulu Ali Pasha, not only successfully managed the settlement process of his fellow Georgians but also masterfully manipulated all the stages of migration and settlement, making use of the conditions in his fierce power struggle against the appointed Ottoman governors as well as the native Muslim nobility of the region. The study thus shows how the personal agenda and the central position of a local Pasha in such a struggle for domination can dangerously destabilize life in an Ottoman province and sow the seeds of animosity between the immigrant community and the natives that eventually accelerated into warfare in the 1890s, creating a serious ‘Immigrant Problem’, the legacy of which lasted up to the early Republican period.