343-361 Identifying the Georgians Living in Turkey
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7UNL\H¶GH Tarih Eoyunca insanOar EireyseO oOarak ya da grupOar haOinde uOusOararasÕ sÕnÕrOarÕn |tesine g|o etmektedirOer ³Diaspora´ terimi geneO oOarak Eu tr g|o hareketOerini tanÕmOamak ioin kuOOanÕOmaktadÕr )akat diasporaOarÕn arkasÕndaki gerekoeOeri aoÕkOamak iki nedenden doOayÕ oOdukoa ]or Eir iútir %irinci neden úudur ki insanOar kendi yaúamOarÕnÕ devam ettirmek ioin Eaúka OkeOere ook oeúitOi nedenOerden doOayÕ gitmektedirOer økinci neden ise Eirook farkOÕ gidiú seEeEinin mevcut oOmasÕdÕr %tn EunOara ra÷men diasporaOar kendiOerini g|omen veya mOteci giEi grupOardan ayÕran EeOirgin |]eOOikOere sahiptirOer %u noktadan hareketOe Eu oaOÕúmanÕn amacÕ Trkiye¶de yaúayan GrcOerin diaspora oOarak tanÕmOanÕp tanÕmOanamayaca÷ÕnÕ diasporanÕn geneO |]eOOikOeri ÕúÕ÷Õnda aoÕkOamaya oaOÕúmaktÕr daOÕúmanÕn di÷er Eir amacÕ ise GrcOere diaspora EakÕú aoÕsÕ iOe EakaEiOmektir %unu da diasporanÕn anOamÕnÕ farkOÕ y|nOeri iOe aoÕkOamaya oaOÕúarak ve 0sOman GrcOerin g|onn kÕsa Eir tarihseO arka pOanÕnÕ vererek yapmaya oaOÕúaca÷Õ] $QDKWDU.HOLPHOHU Diaspora diasporaO topOuOuk muhacir GrcOer anayurt ev sahiEi Oke ,QWURGXFWLRQ The reOationship EetZeen the 2ttoman (mpire and Georgia Eegan Zith the anne[ation of 6outhZest Georgia in It Zas then Zhen IsOam Eegan to spread amongst the Georgians $Oso this date may Ee accepted as the Eeginning of the history of the Georgians Oiving in Turkey The Georgians Oiving around $rtvin a city Zhich is Oocated in the northeastern part of Turkey did not change their Oocation 1evertheOess this region Zas anne[ed Ey the 2ttoman (mpire in the th century The Georgians immigrated to the severaO different 0uhittin GO “TrkGrc øOiúkiOeri ve Trkiye GrcOeri´ >TurcoGeorgian 5eOations and Turkey Georgians@ 6$h)HQ(GHEL\DW'HUJLVL>6DNDU\D8QLYHUVLW\ -RXUQDO RI $UWV DQG 6FLHQFH@ voO ;I? pp http ZZZfed sakaryaedutrarsivyayinOenmisBdergiOer B I0pdf >$ccessed $ugust @ $9øD I Veysel Erdemli provinces of $natolia such as IstanEul 6akarya and .ocaeli after the 2ttoman 5ussian :ar $lthough the neZ 2ttoman administration and the acceptance of Islam led to changes in the Georgian lifestyle Georgians have retained their language and several of their traditions It is knoZn that a large numEer of Georgians have Eeen living in Turkey for many years +oZever there is almost no research aEout Zhether they can Ee considered as diaspora or not $lthough the term µGeorgian diaspora¶ is not used Eroadly this study Zill attempt to identify Zhether the Georgians living in Turkey are a diasporic community or immigrants Zith features similar to diasporas Diasporas have distinctive features separating them from other communities such as refugee and immigrant 0ore particularly diaspora is a very signi¿cant concept that goes into constructing a national identity in a host country It comprises the endeavouring for the protection of national identity and recreating the social memory related to their homeland It also includes Zorking for the Eene¿t of the native country $ccording to %utler diaspora even reTuires the connection EetZeen identity and dynamic participation in the politics of the host country and homeland +ence this study Zill try to understand the process of identi¿cation for Georgian immigrants This study Zill also assist in looking at the Georgian community in a diasporic perspective The study Zill Ee divided into tZo main sections The ¿rst section starts Zith a literature revieZ that aims to de¿ne the meaning of diaspora in different aspects The second section sets out to identify Zhether the Georgian community living in Turkey are to Ee considered as a diaspora or not as Zell as providing a Erief historical Eackground of their immigration ,ELG . D %utler “De¿ning Diaspora 5e¿ning a Discourse´ 'LDVSRUD>online@ vol ; p >$ccessed $ugust @ ,ELG $VøD I Identifying the Georgians Living in Turkey as a Diasporic Community 'H¿QLQJ'LDVSRUD 'H¿QLWLRQ There are many different de¿nitions as Zell as a consideraEle numEer of dissimilar categories of diaspora that are used all over the Zorld Thus it might seem dif¿cult to appropriately de¿ne µdiaspora¶ and to identify its many categorisations This hoZever can Ee successfully accomplished upon a Erief analysis of hoZ the authors in the ¿eld have come to conceptualise the term )irstly 6afran de¿nes diaspora as people µliving outside the homeland¶ 6econdly according to %ra]iel diaspora µhistorically and typically denotes the scattering of people from their homelands into neZ communities across the Zorld¶ Thirdly according to %utler diaspora may Ee de¿ned µat its simplest as the dispersal of a people from its original homeland¶ There are several reasons Zhy many different de¿nitions regarding diasporas have emerged recently %utler e[plains tZo principal reasons for this The ¿rst is that there has Eeen an increase in mass movements of human Eeings in comparison to the ancient Zorld $nd the second addresses the development of communication and transportation technologies 7KH&RQFHSWRI'LDVSRUD $ccording to :ahlEeck the concept of diaspora Zas originally a reference to the dispersal of the -eZs from their ancestral homeland9 :hen e[ploring the historical records hoZever people have either one Ey one or in groups moved from homeland to host countries Today generally the term “diaspora´ de¿nes these kinds of movement from the country of origin to other countries 2n : 6afran “Diasporas in 0odern 6ocieties 0yths of +omeland and 5eturn´ 'LDVSRUD>online@ vol I 99 p >accessed $ugust @ - E %ra]iel 'LDVSRUD $Q,QWURGXFWLRQ 0alden p %utler RSFLW p 9 ,ELG p 9 9 g :ahlEeck “The concept of Diaspora as an $nalytical Tool in the 6tudy of 5efugee Comamunities´ -RXUQDORI(WKQLFDQG0LJUDWLRQ6WXGLHV>online@ vol ;VIII pp >$ccessed $ugust @ $VøD I Veysel Erdemli the other hand the e[amination of the motives Eehind the spread of diasporas is a dif¿cult task for tZo reasons )irstly people spread out to live in other countries for many different reasons 6econdly there are many distriEution types 2ne cannot categorise them easily Esman in his Eook “Diasporas in the Contemporary :orld´ states that µdiasporas¶ have emerged as a result of transnational migration +e asserts that throughout the last century diasporas have spread out from various ethnic and cultural Eackgrounds Zith different aEilities and purposes )or instance it has Eeen oEserved that one could consider the 6panish settlers in $merica as Eeing a diaspora likeZise they may Ee unemployed laEourers like the Turks in contemporary Europe for e[ample and they may Ee talented Zorkers or Zell educated professionals as the modern $sians in 6ilicon Valley and Vancouver illustrate It is clear that there are various refugee e[periences +ence Ze need to distinguish the refugee from the usual immigrant :ahlEeck makes the claim that it is not adeTuate to approach the speci¿c refugee e[perience as a kind of transnational migration $s a result the concept of diaspora has occurred in order to identify this sort of e[perience as Zell as provide a conceptual frameZork $lthough the e[act numEer of transnational migrants cannot Ee estimated e[actly the current ¿gures estimate that the diaspora population is increasing to a consideraEle amount $ccording to 8nited 1ations estimates in as many as million people lived in another country Eesides the one of their Eirth This population has constituted appro[imately per cent of the Zorld¶s population Esman claims that this increased numEer is the result of gloEali]ation - 0 Esman 'LDVSRUDVLQWKH&RQWHPSRUDU\:RUOG CamEridge 9 Esman RSFLW :ahlEeck RSFLW pp - C Dumont “GloEal 3ro¿le of Diasporas´ 7HQWK&RRUGLQDWLRQ0HHWLQJRQ ,QWHUQDWLRQDO0LJUDWLRQ>online@1eZ $VøD I Identifying the Georgians Living in Turkey as a Diasporic Community 7KH'LI¿FXOW\RI&DWHJRULVDWLRQ 6afran suggests that diaspora seems to Ee utilised for several types of people in order for metaphoric designations 6afran suggests a classi¿cation Zithin the concept of diaspora for these types of people $ccording to 6afran¶s diasporas ta[onomy there are four distinct categories H[SDWULDWHVGHVFHQWUHIXJHHV and DOLHQV Cohen in comparison categorised diaspora into ¿ve parts Zhich emphasise their derivation and takes account of transnational migrant movements vi] YLFWLPWUDGHODERULPSHULDO and FXOWXUDO 2n the other hand Esman offers a different ta[onomy of three classes VHWWOHU ODERU and HQWUHSUHQHXULDO +ence today diaspora seems to Ee gradually used more for classifying several categories of people e[patriates e[pellees political refugees asylum seekers alien residents descent ethnic and racial minorities 7KH)HDWXUHVRI'LDVSRUD 6afran de¿nes the term diaspora as characterised Ey si[ common features9 The ¿rst is that the term diaspora refers to people Zho have µEeen dispersed from a speci¿c original centre to tZo or more peripheral or foreign regions¶ The second is that diaspora applies Zhen those disEanded communities µretain a collective memory vision or myth aEout their original homeland²its physical location history and achievements¶ The third is that diasporic communities are identi¿ed Ey a de¿nite Eelief that µthey are not and perhaps cannot Ee fully accepted Ey their host society and therefore feel partly alienated and insulated from it¶ The fourth as 6afran claims declares that they µregard their ancestral homeland as their true ideal home and as the place to Zhich they or their descendants Zould eventually return Zhen conditions are appropriate¶ The 6afran RSFLW pp 99 ,ELG 5 Cohen *OREDO'LDVSRUDV $Q,QWURGXFWLRQ London Esman RSFLW 9 6afranRSFLW p $VøD I Veysel Erdemli ¿fth is that µdiasporic communities ¿rmly Eelieve that they should collectively Ee committed to the maintenance or restoration of their original homeland and to its safety and prosperity¶ The last one is that µdiasporas and diasporic communities typically relate personally or vicariously to that homeland in one Zay or another and their ethno communal >sic@ consciousness and solidarity are importantly de¿ned Ey the e[istence of such a relationship¶ 2n the other hand it seems that there is an agreement among most scholars 6afran Cohen T|l|lyan Clifford %utler on three fundamental features of diaspora These features are e[plained Ey %utler as folloZs )irstly there must Ee a minimum of tZo destinations 6econdly there must Ee some relationship to an actual or imagined homeland Thirdly there must Ee selfaZareness of the group identity >%utler adds the fourth one Zhich is@ the temporalhistorical dimension or temporary e[ile >It may Ee de¿ned as Eeing@ aEle to return >to their@ homeland Zithin >a@ single generation >Eut@ mostly over at least tZo generations >is reTuired@ In this study these features of diasporas Zill help us to identify the Georgian immigrants living in Turkey *HRUJLDQ&RPPXQLW\LQ7XUNH\ 7KH*HRUJLDQV $ccording to 0agnarella the largest group of Caucasians are the Georgians Zho numEer aEove million in Georgia and more than in Turkey $ccording to the 1ational 6tatistics 2f¿ce of Georgia the population of Georgia Zas aEout million in 0oreover the oldest political convention and alphaEet of the Georgians dates Eack to the th century $D 0agnarella proceeds to give information regarding the Georgians as folloZs %ra]il RSFLW pp %utler RSFLW p 9 ,ELG 3aul - 0agnarella 7KH3HDVDQW9HQWXUH 7UDGLWLRQ0LJUDWLRQDQG&KDQJH DPRQJ*HRUJLDQ3HDVDQWVLQ7XUNH\%oston 99 9 $VøD I Identifying the Georgians Living in Turkey as a Diasporic Community They call themselves .DUWYHOL and their homeland 6DNDUWYHOThe European designations for them eg Italian *HRUJLDQR)rench *HRUJLHQ and English Georgian derive from the 3ersian *XUGM Zhich Zas altered Ey the European Crusaders to resemEle the name of 6aint George The Georgians are divided into tZo dialect groups Ey the 6urami 0ountains The Eastern Group is comprised of .artli .akheti Ingilo and the :estern Group consists of Imereti 5acha and Guria The Georgian $dcharians $d]hars >living@ in the %atumi area speak the same dialect as the Gurians their northern neighEours Eut differ from >them@ culturally Ey Eeing 0uslims $ further de¿nition Ey Gl suggests that the Georgians may Ee de¿ned as a local folk in the geography of the Caucasus The Georgians formerly had lived Zith the old $sian triEes in the highly active Caucasus region Looking at the history of Georgia it can Ee argued that there are a feZ important milestones )irstly 0agnarella notes that a neZ set of Eeliefs ±Christianity had entered the geography of the Caucasus Ey the rd century 6econdly in the course of the ne[t si[ centuries different sites of Georgia had Eeen controlled Ey the %y]antine and Iranian Empires This Zas folloZed Ey the invasion of the 0ongols in the th century Thirdly the conTuest of %y]antium and the conTuering of IstanEul Ey the 2ttoman Empire in led to isolation EetZeen Georgia and Zestern Christendom Lastly Georgia Zas invaded Ey 5ussia in the th century and remained under their control until 99 Zhen they ¿nally gained their independence $t the present time Georgia is an independent country Zhich has a population of appro[imately million ,ELG p Gl RSFLW ,ELG 0agnarella RSFLW pp $VøD I Veysel Erdemli 7KH*HRUJLDQ,PPLJUDWLRQ $s mentioned earlier Gl argues that the relationship EetZeen the 2ttoman Empire and Georgia Eegan Zith the anne[ation of 6outhZest Georgia in +oZever 0agnarella claims that the relationship Eegan Zith the conTuest of TraE]on in Ey the 2ttomans9 2n the other hand the immigrants from Georgia arrived in $natolia in the 9th century $s %ice points out hoZever it is knoZn that some Caucasian families migrated voluntarily to $natolia in the ¿rst half of the s +e also notes that forced immigration proceeded during three different periods vi] and 99 respectively Immigration reached its peak EetZeen and due to the 2ttoman 5ussian :ar It is important to note hoZever that the immigration process progressed until the 9s :hen looking at the history of the Georgian people living in Turkey they can Ee divided into three groups according to their immigration time and circumstances The ¿rst group is the Georgians Zho live in $rtvin a city Zhich is located in the northeastern of Turkey They Zere already living there since the Eeginning The second group is the Georgian immigrants Zho are called speci¿cally µChveneEuri¶ They immigrated due to the 2ttoman5ussian :ar Zhich is also knoZn in 2ttoman sources as µ¶9 +arEi¶ This group settled in several different districts of $natolia such as IstanEul 6akarya and .ocaeli 3utkarad]e adds these sites as Zell TraE]on Giresun 6amsun )atsa 2rdu hnye 6inop =onguldak ø]mit ø]nik ø]mir .tahya %alÕkesir Gl RSFLW 9 0agnarella RSFLW 2 g]el 0igration and 3oZer 3olitics the settlement of Georgian Immigrants in Turkey 9 0LGGOH(DVWHUQ6WXGLHV>online@ vol ;LVI pp 9 >$ccessed 9 $ugust @ + %ice .afkasya¶dan$QDGROX¶\D*|oOHU>The Immigrations from Caucasus to the $natolia@ $nkara 99 6 3utkarad]e “0uhacir Gurculer ya da ChveneEuriler´ >Immigrant Georgians or ChveneEuris@ 0DPXOL vol V 99 pp g]HORSFLW $VøD I Identifying the Georgians Living in Turkey as a Diasporic Community $dana .onya Eskiúehir %olu dorum $masya Tokat %ursa øneg|l D]ce G|lck The total numEer of Georgians living in Turkey is controversial g]HO VXJJHVWVWKDWWKHUHDUHDSSUR[LPDWHO\*HRUJLDQVLQ7XUNH\ +oZever according to .arimova and Deverell there are nearly Georgians in Turkey The estimation Eelonging to dilo÷lu on the other hand is entirely different than others9 +e makes the claim that there is roughly to million Georgians in Turkey This estimate seems to Ee e[aggerated compared to those mentioned aEove The reason is that the numEer of Georgians living in Turkey Zas aEout in 9 6imilarly $ndreZs suggests that according to the 9 CE1686 there Zere declared persons speaking Georgian as a mothertongue and 9 declared persons speaking Georgian as second language It is clear hoZever that there is no certain and of¿cial information related to the population of the Georgian immigrants living in Turkey 3utkarad]e RSFLW ) dilo÷lu <Õl gnce Trkiye¶de Grc .|yleri >$ +undred $VøD I Veysel Erdemli 7KH,GHQWL¿FDWLRQRIWKH*HRUJLDQ,PPLJUDQWV It might Ee useful to clarify the terms µ0uhaMir¶ and µCveneEuri¶ in order to identify the Georgians The reason is that these tZo terms assist in Eetter understanding the Georgians $s a Zord 0uhaMir is derived from the $raEic language In Turkish this Zord refers to the immigrant the displaced and the separated from homeland $ccording to 3utkarad]e the term “0uhaMir Georgian´ Zas used at the end of the 9th century to descriEe the Georgians Zho migrated from Georgia to $natolia The Georgian immigrants hoZever have not preferred this term They have selected CveneEuri as a term to descriEe themselves in preference to 0uhaMir immigrants $ccording to dilo÷lu the main reason for this preference is that the Georgians living in Turkey Zant to identify themselves differently from Eoth 1on0uslim Georgians and the 2ttoman Turks 3utkarad]e argues that this term CveneEuri Eoth internal and e[ternal has maMor national and emotional value for the Georgian people Georgian immigrants Zho immigrated to $natolia generally concentrated together 3utkarad]e suggests that Georgian immigrants have mostly preferred settlements in $natolia Zhich are similar to their homeland in terms of natural structure and climatic conditions In a short period Georgian immigrants have constructed Eeautiful houses in these places +e also notes that there Zere e[cellent mosTues and schools in the villages estaElished Ey the Georgians )rom this evidence it may Ee concluded that the Georgian immigrants adopted $natolia as their home and did not consider returning to their homeland Gl also makes the claim that Georgian immigrants migrated to $natolia Zith the intention of remaining there permanently 2n the other hand dilo÷lu declares that this situation has changed since 9 given that after this date the ¿rst 3utkarad]e RSFLW dilo÷lu LELG ,ELG ,ELG dilo÷lu RSFLW ,ELG Gl RSFLW $VøD I Identifying the Georgians Living in Turkey as a Diasporic Community Georgian cultural centres Zere estaElished furthermore Turkey and Georgia entered into a closer relationship after this date9 $ccording to $ndreZs all Georgians in Turkey are nearly Eilingual 1evertheless Georgian seems to Ee only Eroadly used in family life 2n the other hand Turkish is not only used for contacts Zith the outside Zorld Eut also is utilised in family life This shoZs that Georgian is utilised only in family life 0agnarella argues that µlanguage therefore function>s@ as a symEol of identity in the private setting of family life¶ Georgian immigrants are identi¿ed Zith Turkishness and Islam 0agnarella states that µalthough they regard themselves as Georgians they also identify as 0uslims and Turkish Citi]ens¶ +e also claims that Georgians share the same moral codes Zith the Turkish people The implications of this situation can Ee seen in life .arimova and Deverell for e[ample suggest that Georgians generally intermarry Zith Turks They claim that as +ana¿ 0uslims the Georgian immigrants pool the same religious identity as native Turks This circumstance leads to a close relationship EetZeen Turks and the Georgian immigrants 5einforcing this idea $ndreZs points out that close relationship Zith most Turkish people is facilitated Ey the +ana¿ denomination in the religion dilo÷lu hoZever states that after 9 the Georgians living in Turkey have preferred to identify themselves as Georgian +e also points out that although Georgian immigrants generally folloZ the +ana¿ denomination they utilise different Zorship places 9 dilo÷lu RSFLW $ndreZs RSFLW dilo÷lu RSFLW 0agnarella RSFLW p ,ELG p .arimova and Deverell RSFLW $ndreZs RSFLW dilo÷lu RSFLW $VøD I Veysel Erdemli It can Ee said that a consideraEle numEer of Georgian immigrants have moved to cities Ey leaving their villages 0oreover many people from different Eackgrounds and cities in Turkey have moved to the Georgian immigrants¶ villages It can Ee argued that almost all Georgian villages have a mi[ed composition and that the people living in these villages use the same places of Zorship Georgian immigrants have lived separated for many years from their homeland This separation has an impact on the emotions that Georgians have Zith regards to their mainland 0agnarella notes that µEeyond the physical distance from Georgian lands the long years of the Cold :ar further separated Georgians from their ethnic kin¶ +e also states hoZever that Zhen Georgian immigrants address their ancestral land they reveal no sense of national separateness $s a conseTuence Georgian clothing food practices and language are almost interchangeaEle Zith that of the Turkish culture9 8VLQJWKHWHUPµ*HRUJLDQ'LDVSRUD¶ Today it is a fact that the Georgians living in Turkey have lived aZay from their homeland for many years Zith the e[ception of the Georgians living in the environs of $rtvin $lthough the dispersal of these people from their original homeland is one of the distinctive features of diaspora 6afran argues that µphysical dispersion does not automatically connote diaspora¶ This suggests that it is Tuite impossiEle to identify the Georgian immigrants as a diasporic community only Eecause of this feature The Tuestion then arises of Zhether there are any speci¿c criteria to identify a community as diasporic or not $ccording to %utler four dimensions may assist in identifying any community µthe reasons for and conditions of the relocation the relationships Zith the homeland the relationships Zith the 0agnarella RSFLW p ,ELG 9 ,ELG 6afran RSFLW p $VøD I Identifying the Georgians Living in Turkey as a Diasporic Community hostland and interrelationships Zithin the diasporan group¶ 6imilarly 6afran suggests that these criteria partly alloZ us to identify immigrants as a diaspora the maintenance of homeland language having culturally speci¿c institutions the imagining of a return to the homeland and the link Zith the homeland :e shall proceed to e[plain Zhether utilising the term “Georgian Diaspora´ is convenient according to these criteria )irstly the maMority of the Georgian immigrants have maintained their mother tongue in their family life 1evertheless there has Eeen a dramatic increase in younger generations Even the vast maMority of them speci¿cally living in the Zest of Turkey cannot speak their motherland language $rguaEly using the host land language has Eeen a necessity for Georgian immigrants their Zhole lives $s a conseTuence Georgian immigrants are gradually forgetting their motherland language :hen considering 6afran¶s ¿rst criterion ie the maintenance of homeland language it might Ee said that this situation does not implicitly alloZ us to identify the Georgian community as a diasporic population 6econdly the Georgian immigrants had almost no relationship Zith their homeland until 9 dilo÷lu also states that there Zas no movement organised Ey the Georgian people to reinforce their motherland country in Turkey until 9 $ccording to Gl the main reason Eehind this is that the integration of the Georgians had already Eeen completed and that they generally identi¿ed themselves as Eeing Turkish Thirdly the Georgians do not make a distinction e[cept using CvheneEuri EetZeen themselves and Turkish people It can Ee oEserved that Eoth the Georgian immigrants and Turkish people have similar concepts for the land Zhere they live 1evertheless in this sense there is a clear distinction EetZeen Georgian immigrants and the Georgians living in %utler RSFLW p 9 6afran RSFLW 0agnarella RSFLW dilo÷lu RSFLW ,ELG Gl RSFLW $VøD I Veysel Erdemli Georgia This suggests that the Georgian community may not Ee identi¿ed as a diaspora )inally Georgian immigrants have Eeen living in Turkey for many years It is oEvious that they live physically separate from their homeland 0oreover it has Eeen claimed that there is almost no dream of returning to their homeland among the Georgian immigrants This feature of the Georgian community also makes a distinction EetZeen diasporas and other kinds of communities such as refugee and immigrant according to %utler criteria &RQFOXVLRQ The Georgian community is one of the most important components of Turkish society $s an ethnic group it seems possiEle to say that they are not a clannish community due to the fact that there is almost no separatist movement toZard The 5epuElic of Turkey historically It seems that the integration process of the Georgian immigrants to $natolia has Eeen completed $t the present time many Georgian immigrants identify themselves as 0uslims and Turkish Citi]ens 1evertheless after 9 the numEer of immigrants preferring to identify themselves as Georgian has increased $ccording to the Turkish Constitution Georgian immigrants are citi]ens of The 5epuElic of Turkey like native Turks 0oreover they have the same rights as ethnic Turks $lthough they retain several of their old customs they have almost no dreams of returning to their homeland )or e[ample memEers of diasporas generally visit their homeland many times during a single year The memEers of diasporas Zant to invest their money in their homeland They folloZ their homeland ZeEsites TV channels and neZspapers $ll these have Eeen done in order to maintain a healthy relationship Zith their homeland +oZever Georgian immigrants in particular living in the Zest side of Turkey do not freTuently visit their ancestral lands $lso most of them are not particularly interested in either folloZing their homeland¶s media or investing their money in their homeland The situation for Georgian immigrants living in the environs of $rtvin is Tuite different $s it has Eeen mentioned Eefore they have already lived in their motherland It can Ee said that it does not seem possiEle to identify $VøD I Identifying the Georgians Living in Turkey as a Diasporic Community Georgian immigrants as a diasporic community 1evertheless Georgian immigrants particularly after 9 may have a minor similarity to diasporas $s a conseTuence the Georgian immigrants living in Turkey can Ee identi¿ed as an ethnic minority group +oZever it should Ee noted that further research shall Ee reTuired in order to oEtain a more profound knoZledge aEout the Georgian immigrants in Turkey and their e[act categorisation $VøD I Veysel Erdemli 5()(5(1&(6 • $1D5E:6 3 $ (WKQLF *URXSV LQ WKH 5HSXEOLF RI 7XUNH\ :iesEaden 99 • %ICE + .afkasya¶dan$QDGROX¶\D*|oOHU >The Immigrations from Caucasus to the $natolia@ $nkara 99 • %5$=IEL - E 'LDVSRUD $Q,QWURGXFWLRQ 0alden • %8TLE5 . 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