Migrants In Turkey Research Articles

Pathways to Statelessness and Parent-Child Separation among Uyghurs in Turkey

This article explores the self-reported experiences of Uyghur migrants in Turkey regarding the pathways that lead to statelessness and parent-child separation. First, I discuss statelessness among Uyghurs, including Uyghur children, living in Turkey. Second, I address the issue of parent-child separation during migration and resettlement, and the resulting “orphanhood” of Uyghur children. Finally, I turn to the role that Uyghur-led educational initiatives play in addressing Uyghur refugee children’s needs specifically, and the current crisis in the Uyghur homeland more generally. This paper contributes to the scholarship on refugee law and resettlement by exploring the ways in which the crisis in the Uyghur homeland has impacted and continues

Higher Education for forcibly displaced migrants in Turkey

ABSTRACT Higher education (HE) provides a unique opportunity to accomplish social and economic integration and mitigate the impact of displacement for forcibly displaced migrants (FDMs) in the long run. Against this backdrop, the purpose of the study is to explore the HE experiences of Syrian FDMs in Turkey. Utilizing snowball sampling, 24 FDMs in Turkey were interviewed. The results suggested that for the FDMs, HE was a mechanism for reconstructing their lives. However, they faced several challenges before and after access to HE. These challenges emanated from the education system itself due to the difficulties in accessing official documents from the home country, managing the admission process of different universities and language barriers as well as the broader social, economic, and cultural systems (e.g., public pushback). Concerning the challenges rooted in its education system, Turkey exhibited a dynamic approach to dealing with the problems and opening space for Syrian FDMs in HE. However, the challenges resulting from discrimination cause Syrian FDMs to question their sense of belonging stemming from cultural, geographical, and religious proximity to Turkey and reexamine their intentions of staying in Turkey forever.

Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic Process on Migrants in Turkey

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of the pandemic process on immigrants in Turkey based on the findings of previous studies and to make policy recommendations based on the results obtained. The question of the research is “What are the effects of the pandemic process on immigrants in Turkey?” presented in the form. In order to answer this question, five sub-questions were sought in the study. In the study, in which qualitative research methods and techniques were used, the document analysis technique, which is one of the qualitative data collection techniques, was used to obtain the data to be used. In order to provide data for the study, first of all, national and international databases were searched by using keywords, word groups and subject headings that could provide data about the study subject. The documents obtained with the easily accessible sampling method were evaluated by considering the questions to be answered in the study. As a result of the evaluation, themes were created by taking into account the study areas covered in the researches. The data related to the themes created are transferred under the related theme title. Finally, quantitative data on the themes created are presented in a table. Although the data presented by the studies differ from each other, when these data are taken as a whole, it is seen that the majority of immigrants have information about Covid-19. However, the rate of immigrants accessing information through public institutions and organizations is very low. Social media and traditional media are the channels that immigrants use most in accessing information. In this process, some of the immigrants who applied to the hospital units had problems in accessing health services. A significant part of the children of immigrants did not have any problems in accessing distance education. A significant part of the immigrants had problems in accessing their livelihoods in this process. As a result of this situation, immigrants also experienced problems in accessing adequate food, shelter opportunities, energy resources and basic hygiene requirements.

Local, Institutional, or Transnational? Social Networks of Russian Marriage Migrants in Turkey

This study focuses on the spatialization and institutionalization of social networks of Russian women who migrated to Turkey via marriage in the last 30 years. Specifically, it investigates how and why their social networks have been changing at the local and transnational levels. We conducted in-depth interviews with 56 women between 2014−2021. Our extensive analysis indicates that despite their newly established status via marriages, the Russian women have weak ties with the locals regardless of the migration period, preferring mostly to engage with other Russian women in Turkey. Even if the different migrant associations established by Russian migrants in Turkey do not actually aim this, they create an effect that increases the social distance with the host society and serves to strengthen the connection between the migrants. Also, unlike pioneer migrants, newer marriage migrants have established strong transnational ties with others living overseas, regardless of their gender or ethnic identity. Further, this study reveals that the migrant women's subjectivity, their spouses’ benefit-oriented negotiation styles, and the state's diaspora policy all shape the women's social networks at different levels.

The establishment of the Ukrainian diaspora in Turkey through migrant associations: ‘We feel as part of the diaspora from now on.’

ABSTRACT Policies of the migrant sending and migrant receiving counties are effective in the emergence of diasporas. However, this article argues that a third country could also impact diaspora formations. This study’s primary data source is the interviews held with the representatives from 15 Ukrainian associations formed recently in Turkey. The findings reveal that anti-Russian sentiment and emerging national awareness led the Ukrainian migrants in Turkey towards a diasporic organization. The development of these organizations has been influenced by the initiatives of the Ukrainian government to grow its own diaspora and to activate Ukrainians abroad through ethnonationalism, the positive response to these diasporic activities in return among the migrants, the formation of a sample organization model by the World Ukrainian Congress, and the closeness between Ukraine and Turkey. Finally, the Ukrainian associations have discovered certain areas to focus on the diaspora development and accordingly that they have developed their institutional capacities.

Embracing Vulnerability in Writing Migrant Lives

In this paper, an anthropologist and a life writer examine the implications of an ethical and political practice of vulnerability with regards to writing migrant lives. Drawing on research with migrants in Turkey and Australia, we argue that it is useful to use vulnerable methodologies, vulnerable relationships and vulnerable writing.

Child Growth and Refugee Status: Evidence from Syrian Migrants in Turkey

Child Growth and Refugee Status: Evidence from Syrian Migrants in Turkey

The Short History of Syrian Street Music in Istanbul

Over the last ten years, fluctuations regarding political, legal, social, and economic parameters have transformed the migratory experience of Syrian migrants in Turkey. This transformation has not only affected musicians’ day-to-day lives, but also their musical practices, venues of performance, repertoires, and even the meanings associated with all of these. However, the limited literature on the Syrian musicians’ experience in Turkey does not adequately reflect this transformation. In the context of a social and economic history of migration between 2015 and 2020, this article will focus on a specific musical practice of Syrian musicians in Istanbul, namely street musicianship. More specifically, based on a basic argument that this practice fulfills multiple economic, social, and political functions in a context marked by a lack of systematic support and institutional means under migratory circumstances, the article will examine various aspects of it. A detailed examination of this specific practice can provide a basis for a productive discussion leading to a better understanding of the Syrian migratory experience in Turkey. Moreover, every single aspect the article deals with has the potential to provide an understanding of the intricate social relations and issues that involve not only migrant musicians but also many other actors. First, I will discuss Syrian street music in Istanbul as an emergent practice occurring in migratory conditions. Without ignoring the heterogeneity of migrant and Syrian identities, I attempt to portray Syrian street music and its performers according to various parameters such as their age, gender, musical background, etc. Second, I look at how Syrian musicians use street music to interact with other public space actors, including local and migrant communities, as well as tourists. I will also provide examples that illustrate how these musicians tactically manage these encounters by choosing from their repertoire to suit their respective audiences. Finally, I argue why street musicianship, rather than representing a merely transitional, temporary job for migrants during the early years of their migration, is, in fact, the first step of a career in a newly forming market by migrant musicians.

Short History of Syrian Street Music in Istanbul

Over the last ten years, fluctuations regarding political, legal, social, and economic parameters have transformed the migratory experience of Syrian migrants in Turkey. This transformation has not only affected musicians’ day-to-day lives, but also their musical practices, venues of performance, repertoires, and even the meanings associated with all of these. However, the limited literature on the Syrian musicians’ experience in Turkey does not adequately reflect this transformation.
 In the context of a social and economic history of migration between 2015 and 2020, this article will focus on a specific musical practice of Syrian musicians in Istanbul, namely street musicianship. More specifically, based on a basic argument that this practice fulfills multiple economic, social, and political functions in a context marked by a lack of systematic support and institutional means under migratory circumstances, the article will examine various aspects of it.
 A detailed examination of this specific practice can provide a basis for a productive discussion leading to a better understanding of the Syrian migratory experience in Turkey. Moreover, every single aspect the article deals with has the potential to provide an understanding of the intricate social relations and issues that involve not only migrant musicians but also many other actors.
 First, I will discuss Syrian street music in Istanbul as an emergent practice occurring in migratory conditions. Without ignoring the heterogeneity of migrant and Syrian identities, I attempt to portray Syrian street music and its performers according to various parameters such as their age, gender, musical background, etc. Second, I look at how Syrian musicians use street music to interact with other public space actors, including local and migrant communities, as well as tourists. I will also provide examples that illustrate how these musicians tactically manage these encounters by choosing from their repertoire to suit their respective audiences. Finally, I argue why street musicianship, rather than representing a merely transitional, temporary job for migrants during the early years of their migration, is, in fact, the first step of a career in a newly forming market by migrant musicians.

SURİYELİ MÜLTECİ GÖÇÜNDEN SONRA TÜRKİYE'DEKİ HOŞGÖRÜ KAVRAMI

Migration is a phenomenon that has been on the agenda in Turkey throughout history. Refugees and migrants’ issues, which are extremely strong, multidimensional, and complex, should be widely investigated. At this point, this investigation has been advanced to analyze the connection between the idea of tolerance and the expanding number of refugees in Turkey. Therefore, the aim of the study is to see the change in the level of tolerance towards migrants in Turkey after the Syrian asylum seeker influx. The data provided by the content analysis method conducted on the Twitter social media platform by using specific keywords with covering the years 2012, 2015, and 2018, were analyzed in harmony with the literature review. However, the reliability of the study was tried to be ensured by the inter-judge reliability method. The findings indicate a decrease in the tolerance level in Turkey towards the migrants after Syrian asylum seekers' arrival.

A Relational Sociological Analysis on the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Syrian Migrants' Lives in Turkey: The Case of Mersin Province.

The COVID-19 pandemic which expeditiously turned into a global health crisis also triggered many risks and uncertainties especially for vulnerable groups such as migrants and refugees as a result of the measures restricting social, economic, and educational life as well as mobility. According to the relational sociological perspective, each uncertainty process creates various changes on social networks and relationships, and these relational changes also affect identities, roles, and relational strategies. With this study, it is aimed to explore the economic, social, and familial impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on Syrian migrants’ lives in Turkey from a relational sociological perspective. The data in the study is obtained by semi-structured qualitative interviews with 13 Syrian citizens living in Mersin province of Turkey. According to the findings of the study, the suspension or slowdown of economic activities due to the pandemic has caused not only an uncertainty about the future, but also a change in familial positions and roles. Also the accepted norms of social relations have been inevitably suspended resulting in increased ambiguity. Strengthening the network of solidarity within relatives and building stronger relationships within the family are common relational strategies of the participants to mitigate the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, but these strategies will not be adequate if the lockdown process is prolonged. Considering the fact that the lockdown measures can be tightened again at any time, social and economic policies should be expanded to include the Syrian migrants in Turkey.

Open Doors and “Open Wounds”: Bearing Witness to Borders and Changing Discursive Formations on Refugees and Migrants in Turkey

ABSTRACT On February 28th, 2020, with President Erdogan’s claim to have “opened the doors,” refugees and migrants made their way to the Turkish borderlines with Greece and Bulgaria, only to experience militarized policing, hazardous crossings by sea, and deadly encounters. By employing a critical discourse analysis and using Gloria Anzaldúa’s borderlands theory and lens, the article argues how Turkish borderlines with Greece and Bulgaria have transformed into a borderland due to the Justice and Development Party’s (JDP) shifting discursive formations against migrants and refugees. The article analyzes public speeches and statements of President Erdogan and politicians from the JDP between the years 2014–2020. The discursive shift from honorable guests and Muslim fellows to refugees and migrants being a burden on the Turkish state has led Greece and Bulgaria to heighten the militarization of the borderlines both on land and sea, forming a complex security landscape, a topography of cruelty, and a borderland. Furthermore, the article contextualizes how this infected environment becomes an “open wound,” breaking down families, futures, and bodies as well as constructing individual and collective spaces of (un)belonging, trauma, and displacement.

Derrida’s Concept of Hos(ti)pitality and Hate Crime in Turkey

This article considers hate crime against Syrian migrants in Turkey within the context of the Turkish government’s politics of hospitality, with reference to Derrida’s notion of the hos(ti)pitality. It analyzes hate crime directed at Syrian refugees as reported in Turkish newspapers between 2014 and 2021. The data analysis used Van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) method. The findings reveal that hate crimes resulted from hate speech collectively targeting Syrians as a burden and threat for the nation. The government’s hospitality grants Syrian migrants a status of guest and the guest becomes the hated other or enemy which leads to hate crime.

The gift of hospitality and the (un)welcoming of Syrian migrants in Turkey

ABSTRACTAs of 2020, Turkey was home to 3.6 million Syrian migrants who fled violence in their country after the uprisings of 2011. Although they are not recognized as refugees, Syrian migrants have been granted the right to self‐settlement in Turkey. The Turkish state has promoted this reception as a form of hospitality and generosity. The state's elevation of hospitality has been criticized, however, for reinforcing inequalities. More broadly, the concept of hospitality itself has been scrutinized for its immediate affinity to hostility. But as revealed by ethnographic work with Istanbul's neighborhood aid networks, “hospitality” at ​the grassroots level is governed by principles of the gift. In everyday interactions, it can catalyze a cycle of reciprocal returns that may lead to long‐term relationships. Countering the argument that hospitality is always paired with hostility, this ethnography shows that it can also turn strangers into relatable Others. [gift, hospitality, neighborhoods, reciprocity, Syrian refugees, Istanbul, Turkey]

Hosting Overnight Guests: Gendered Unpaid Work as a Solidarity Mechanism of Migrants in the Process of Urbanization in Turkey

Abstract This article addresses overnight guest hosting, which is a widespread solidarity practice among rural-to-urban migrants in Turkey. The fieldwork, based on in-depth interviews with 28 first-generation migrant women, reveals that it was mostly the young migrant women who shouldered hosting tasks as gendered unpaid work, which deepen their time poverty and reinforce their dependence on family. The analysis highlights the links between intersectional disadvantages of young migrant women and poverty, the failure of the welfare state to provide social assistance for migrants, and the familialist character of social policy during the peak years of migration.

Walking on a Tightrope: Challenges and Opportunities for Civil Society Organizations Working with Refugees and Migrants in Turkey

This qualitative study sheds light onto the working structures, make-up, and strengths and weaknesses of civil society organizations working with Syrian refugees in Turkey. The research includes 22 interviews with a variety of national and international civil society organizations (CSOs) and aims to reveal strategies they employ to communicate with and advocate on behalf of refugees. The strategies utilized by international and domestic organizations are compared and their relationships elaborated within the specific sociocultural and political context of Turkey. Results reveal that Syrian refugee advocacy in Turkey can be defined as a balancing act, where civil society organizations need to establish and nurture positive government relations, while engaging closely with their beneficiary communities and each other due to their mutually dependent funding and implementation arrangements, as well as work closely with the media to ensure effective advocacy.

Exploring Alcohol and Substance Addiction among Syrian Migrants in Turkey: A Qualitative Study Integrating Perspectives of Addicts, Their Relatives, Local and National Institutions

Exploring Alcohol and Substance Addiction among Syrian Migrants in Turkey: A Qualitative Study Integrating Perspectives of Addicts, Their Relatives, Local and National Institutions

Türk Kahvesinin Yanına Alman Çikolatasını Kim Koydu? Türkiye'deki Alman Gelinlerin Ulusaşırı Ekonomik Pratikleri

Dünya genelinde karma evliliklere bağlı göçler artmaktadır. Buna paralel olarak ulusaşırı ekonomik pratikler sürdüren göçmenler içinde evlilik göçmenleri de artmaya başlamıştır. Bu sürecin çeşitli mekânsal yansımaları görülmeye başlanmıştır. Bununla birlikte etnik kimliğin ve evlilik statüsünün gidilen ülkedeki anlamına göre evlilik göçmenlerinin bu pratikleri sürdürmelerinde büyük mekânsal farklılıklar görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada, etnik kimliğin ve evlilik statüsünün, yaygın karma evlilik göçü paterninin tipik bir örneği olmayan Türkiye'deki Alman evlilik göçmenlerinin ulusaşırı ekonomik pratiklerine etkisi ortaya konmaktadır. 7 ilde yaşayan 16 evlilik göçmeniyle yapılan derinlemesine görüşmelere dayanarak, etnik kimliğin ve evlilik statüsünün Türkiye'deki Alman evlilik göçmenlerinin ekonomik pratikler sürdürmelerini desteklemeye hizmet ettiği; bu pratikler yoluyla ulusaşırı ortaklıkların arttığı ve pek çok işin dijitalleşmesinin hızlandığı görülmüştür.

Migration Regime and “Language Part of Work”: Experiences of Syrian Refugees as Surplus Population in the Turkish Labor Market

The literature on migration, language and employment is dominated by the human capital approach and promotes multilingualism as a universal good. This paper examines the relationship between language and work for migrants illustrating how they are ascribed value as capital according to their position and the “language part of work.” First, we trace a genealogy of the migration regime in relation to the labor and linguistic market of migrants in Turkey, characterized by informality and exploitation. Then, we look at the experiences of refugees qualitatively to show how language is differentially valued and has modest effects on social mobility. We argue that language learning instead of stemming from individuals’ possession of capital should be examined within a broader linguistic and employment framework. This research goes beyond conventional wisdom about the centrality of language as a means to improve employment by shedding light on the structure that shapes language value.

OHS Problems of Migrants in Turkey and the Order of Importance: Pareto Analysis

In Turkey, no studies have been conducted on the listing of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) problems of legal and illegal migrant workers, especially of Syrian origin, in the order of importance and the need to address solution suggestions according to this order. This study aims to list the OHS problems of migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants under international protection, and irregular migrants employed in the production and service sectors in the order of importance and show their effect on solutions. The 40-item list of problems created by performing the literature review was weighted with the expert opinions of stakeholders related to migrants in Turkey, namely, universities, migrant NGOs, Syrian academicians, government units, migrant workers, and OHS specialists, and checked using Pareto analysis. In the table created by experts through the evaluation and weighting of the problems obtained from the literature review, the first eight questions (20%) constituted 79%, the next 12 questions (30%) constituted 16%, and the last 20 questions (50%) constituted 5%. When the first eight problems are analyzed, it is observed that the OSH problems of migrants are caused by the laws that are not enacted, the fact that the state institutions ignore migrant workers, and that migrant workers are completely vulnerable to OSH risks. Afterward, the same expert team was asked about solution proposals within the scope of the existing problems, and they were put in the order of importance via Pareto analysis. In Turkey, there is no law or legislation regarding OHS legislation for migrant workers. Migrant workers experience serious security and health problems. The state especially ignores illegal migrant workers. Illegal migrant workers are deprived of their security rights and the right to access health care. It is observed that 80% of the migrant workers’ problems will be resolved when the most important eight problems identified are resolved.