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Wetenschappelijke Verhandeling UNIVERSITEIT GENT FACULTEIT POLITIEKE EN SOCIALE WETENSCHAPPEN TRANSNATIONALE MOBILISATIE VAN DE ASSYRISCHE GEMEENSCHAP IN MECHELEN: CASE STUDY VAN DE ASSYRISCHE CHRISTENEN UIT HASSANA Wetenschappelijke verhandeling aantal woorden: 22.058 WIEKE WATERSCHOOT MASTERPROEF MANAMA CONFLICT AND DEVELOPMENT PROMOTOR : PROF. DR. SAMI ZEMNI COMMISSARIS : DR. MARLIES CASIER COMMISSARIS : DR. KOENRAAD BOGAERT ACADEMIEJAAR 2009 - 2010 Un peuple puise sa volonté de résistance à l’extermination dans la mémoire de son histoire comme « nation », dans la permanence de sa langue qui fonde son identité culturelle, dans sa religion qui maintient, contre l’environnement hostile de peuples différents, sa cohésion et crée des « frontières morales » plus fortes que des limites géographiques (Gallo, 2005, p. 521). Dankwoord ___________________________________________________________________________ Heel wat mensen hebben hun steentje voor deze masterproef bijgedragen. Ik wil de volgende mensen dan ook oprecht bedanken: • Eerst en vooral mijn promotor, Prof. Sami Zemni, voor zijn begeleiding en adviezen alsook Marlies Casier voor al de interessante literatuur die ze me heeft doorgestuurd. • Dhr. August Thiry bij wie alles begon, voor al zijn hulp en grote bereidheid om me in de Assyrische gemeenschap in Mechelen te introduceren. • Al mijn respondenten, zowel de Assyriërs waar ik mee sprak, als de medewerkers van de Dienst Diversiteit Mechelen, De Nieuwe Weg, Prisma en KMS. Ik heb steeds het geluk gehad op mensen te stuiten die me met zeer veel enthousiasme verder geholpen hebben. • In het bijzonder zou ik Dhr. Melkan Kucam willen bedanken. Hij heeft zich echt enorm voor me ingezet en er voor gezorgd dat ik steeds op de hoogte was van wat er precies binnen de Assyrische gemeenschap gaande was. • Last but not least mijn mama, die als zelfbenoemde “leek” toch zeer kritische feedback gaf. Abstract __________________________________________________________________________________________ In dit onderzoek wordt gepeild in hoeverre transnationale mobilisatie in de Assyrische gemeenschap in Mechelen aanwezig is. Deze gemeenschap is afkomstig uit zuid-oost Turkije meer bepaald uit Hassana en Herbul Aangezien er slechts transnationale mobilisatie kan zijn wanneer er een gezamenlijke identiteit bestaat binnen een gemeenschap wordt er ook verder ingegaan op wat identiteit precies is. Het gaat om een kwalitatief onderzoek waarbij aan de hand van interviews en participatieve observatie een beeld van de Assyrische identiteit gevormd wordt. De gezamenlijke identiteit die bij de Assyrische Mechelaars is aangetroffen, is gebaseerd op een sterke imaginair. Ze voelen zich met elkaar verbonden, ondanks het feit dat deze groep niet langer een thuisland heeft. Ze delen een religie, een taal en een geschiedenis. Deze pijlers hebben een belangrijke symbolische waarde die het saamhorigheidsgevoel binnen de gemeenschap versterken. Toch kunnen wij conflictpunten onderscheiden, deze betreffen voornamelijk de verschillende geloofstromingen. Er wordt niet naar een eigen land gestreefd, men tracht zijn Assyrische identiteit via andere kanalen te behouden. Het gaat om subtiele vormen van transnationale mobilisatie, politieke grensoverschrijdende netwerken zijn in Mechelen niet teruggevonden. Inhoudsopgave Inleiding ......................................................................................................................1 1 Geschiedenis en sociografie van de gemeenschap ..................................................3 1.1 Inleiding............................................................................................................3 1.2 Religie...............................................................................................................4 1.3 Taal...................................................................................................................8 1.4 Geschiedenis .....................................................................................................9 2 Transnationale mobilisatie en identiteit ................................................................15 2.1 Transnationale mobilisatie...............................................................................15 2.2 Identiteit..........................................................................................................18 3 Onderzoekdesign en methodes .............................................................................21 3.1 Steekproef.......................................................................................................21 3.2 Procedure, Materiaal en Opzet ........................................................................23 3.2.1 Interviews ................................................................................................23 3.2.2 Observatie................................................................................................25 3.2.3 Analyse....................................................................................................26 4 Resultaten ............................................................................................................28 4.1 Identiteit..........................................................................................................28 4.1.1 Religie .....................................................................................................28 4.1.2 Taal..........................................................................................................33 4.1.3 Geschiedenis............................................................................................34 4.1.4 Groepsverbanden .....................................................................................36 4.2 Migratie naar Mechelen...................................................................................39 4.3 Leven en toekomst in Mechelen ......................................................................40 4.4 Volk zonder staat ............................................................................................44 5 Bespreking en conclusie.......................................................................................47 Bibliografie................................................................................................................50 Bijlage .......................................................................................................................54 Bijlage 1: Interviewtranscripten ..............................................................................54 Bijlage 2: Observatieverslagen..............................................................................199 Inleiding Mechelen is vooral bekend voor zijn Bisdom, de Mechelse Koekoek en Bart Somers, maar wat slechts enkelen weten is dat het ook de nieuwe thuis is van ongeveer 1800 Assyriërs. Een artikel in het tijdschrift MO* in 2008 leerde mij het bestaan van deze minderheidsgroep kennen. Het boek van Dhr. August Thiry “Mechelen aan de Tigris” bracht verdere verduidelijking. Het vertelt het verhaal van de Assyriërs afkomstig uit het dorp Hassana in het zuidoosten van Turkije, die na gedwongen migratie zich in Mechelen gevestigd hebben. In het vak “Politiek van de globalisering” kwam juist transnationale politieke mobilisatie aan bod. Ik vroeg me af hoe het zat met die transnationale politieke mobilisatie bij de Assyrische christenen in Mechelen. Mijn onderzoek kreeg langzaam vorm. Buiten het ene boek van Dhr. Thiry werd al snel duidelijk dat er nog niet veel over dit onderwerp geschreven was. Kwalitatief veldonderzoek leek de aangewezen manier om een goede kennis van de gekozen gemeenschap te ontwikkelen. Aan de hand van interviews en participatieve observatie heb ik geprobeerd me een beeld te vormen van hoe deze zeer hechte gemeenschap zijn Assyrische identiteit in Mechelen tracht te behouden en in hoeverre er sprake is van transnationale politieke mobilisatie. Na een eerste verkenning van het terrein kwam ik echter tot de conclusie dat er praktisch geen transnationale politieke mobilisatie aanwezig is. De politieke focus valt weg. Ik besluit rekening te houden met iedere vorm van transnationale mobilisatie zelfs de meest subtiele uitdrukking ervan. Een andere dwingende aanpassing is dat er zowel met mensen uit Hassana als uit Herbul, een naburig dorp, is gesproken. In eerste instantie was het de bedoeling enkel de Assyrische christenen afkomstig uit Hassana te interviewen, een nieuw “Hassana aan de Dijle” was immers het initiële vertrekpunt. Er bleek al snel dat de interne verschillen tussen deze twee dorpen toch een meerwaarde voor het onderzoek zouden kunnen hebben, vooral omdat dit verschil in Mechelen een zekere rol blijft spelen en zorgt voor bepaalde organisatorische spanningen. Na enig gesleutel is de centrale doelstelling van mijn masterproef na te gaan hoe de Assyrische christenen uit Hassana en Herbul trachten in Mechelen hun Assyrische identiteit staande te houden en in welke mate dit transnationale mobilisatie teweeg brengt. Het gaat eerder om een beschrijvend onderzoek dan een toetsend onderzoek, eerder sociaalantropologisch dan politiek. Het vertrekpunt is de Assyrische gemeenschap in Mechelen. Ik ben op zoek gegaan naar welke dynamieken actief zijn binnen deze gemeenschap en heb deze beschreven. Verschillende thema’s hebben zich onderscheiden. Het zijn die thema’s die in een tweede fase getoetst zijn aan het theoretische kader om een antwoord te kunnen geven op de vraag of er bij de Assyrische Mechelaars effectief sprake is van transnationale
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