MiReKoc
MIGRATION RESEARCH PROGRAM
AT THE KOÇ UNIVERSITY
Project No: 05
Principal Researcher: H. Deniz YÜKSEKER / Kelly T. BREWER
Affiliation: Koç University
Project Title: African Migrants In Istanbul: A Demographic And Cultural Survey
Research Abstract:
In the past 25 years, several thousand people from various African countries have legally or illegally entered Turkey, usually en route to Western Europe either as asylum seekers or economic migrants. But this phenomenon has largely escaped scholarly attention save some journalistic accounts. The purpose of this project is to (a) draw a demographic profile of African migrants in Istanbul, (b) locate their migration patterns within the framework of population flows between Africa and Western Europe, and (c) investigate the cultural practices that arise as a result of the encounter between African migrants and Turkish citizens.
This research will yield findings that will (a) enrich the Turkish scholarship on a very significant phenomenon, transit migration, (b) provide useful information for the UNHCR’s office in Turkey and other authorities regarding their activities targeting African asylum seekers, and (c) make a critical contribution to the scholarly literature on the African Diaspora.
The proposed project aims to flesh out the category of the African migrant in Turkey by investigating the diversity of their ethnic and regional backgrounds; their gender and age composition; their motivation for migration; reasons for seeking asylum; their intended destinations; living conditions in Istanbul; illegal or informal income earning activities; access to social services and aid; and their perceptions of both the refugee regime in Turkey and racialized treatment from Turkish authorities. Another goal of the project is to investigate the impact of ethnic diversity (and hostility) and perceptions of racialized attitudes on the formation of an African diasporic community in Istanbul.
To attain these goals, we will undertake a survey with 150 men and women from different countries and ethnic groups. We will conduct in-depth interviews with about 50 of them. Additionally, Turkish law enforcement authorities, UNHCR and IOM officials, and relevant NGO representatives will also be interviewed.