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Migration in the Turkish Republic

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Migration in the Turkish Republic Migration in the Turkish Republic Turkey has historically been a country of both emigration and because of the political and military conflict in south-eastern immigration. Internal dynamics, bilateral agreements, con- and eastern Turkey. They also migrated to big cities, mostly flicts and war, and political and economic interests have led to Istanbul and have changed the social structure of the city to the emergence of different migratory movements at dif- significantly. ferent times. Some of these movements have been regular and some are irregular. Turkish guest-worker emigration to EMIGRANTS FROM TURKEY Europe, refugee emigration after the 1970s and continuing While there was movement from rural areas to the urban during the 1980s until today, student migration and emigra- centres starting from the 1950s, Turkey signed its first bilat- tion of highly-skilled people are the main migratory movements eral labour agreement with Germany in 1961 when Turkish from Turkey to various parts of the world. guest-worker migration to Europe began. This was seen as Bulgarian immigration into Turkey between 1923 and the a necessary move by the Turkish state in order to solve the 1990s, reaching a peak in 1989; immigration of asylum seek- problem of unemployment by means of encouraging migra- ers and refugees; trafficked and smuggled people; illegal immi- tion of the excess workforce abroad. In addition to Germany, grants and, recently, the reverse migration of the “Euro-Turks” Turkey signed agreements with Austria, France, Belgium, the (Kaya and Kentel, 2005), who are the second and third gener- Netherlands and Sweden. Turkish labour emigration was not ation children of the guest-workers, are the major immigration only directed to the European continent. A labour agreement moves into Turkey. Moreover, due to its geographical location was also signed with Australia. In 1973, labour recruitments between Europe and Asia, Turkey is also a transit point for ceased. However, Turkish migration continued with family re- migrants from the Middle East and Central Asia who want to unification procedures and in the form of refugee and asylum reach the prosperous European Union countries. Thus, Turkey flows. Due to the difficult political atmosphere in the country in and its migration policies are crucial to the EU countries which the 1970s and 1980s, many people left Turkey and became want Turkey to control its borders against illegal and transit refugees mainly in European countries. After the 1990s, Turk- migrants in line with the Geneva Convention. This is the main ish emigration to the USA (both legal, basically as student mi- reason why Turkey’s migration policy focuses on asylum seek- gration, and illegal), to Saudi Arabia and Libya were the main ers, refugees and illegal migrants. Turkey has made progress forms of emigration. in the field of migration policy by trying to bring current policies Turkey has been dealing with Turkish emigrants through its into line with international and EU standards. embassies and consulates. There was no specific state insti- Another important migratory pattern determining Turkey’s tution responsible for expatriates. Issues related to them and social structure is constituted by internal migration dynamics, problems they might encounter in their countries of residence which can still be observed from rural eastern and south-east- have been solved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ern Turkey to the urban western Turkey. A significant part of Ministry of Labour and Social Security. In 2010, the Directo- this migration process consisted of internally displaced popula- rate for Turkish Expatriates was founded and is now responsi- tion due to armed conflict in south-eastern Anatolia between ble for emigrants and their problems. 1984 and 1999. Turkish emigration has always been an important source of Turkish industrialisation and modernisation from the begin- funds for Turkish economy through remittances sent by Turk- nings of 1950s was marked by a move from the rural areas ish people abroad. The World Bank counts the Turkey-Germa- towards the big cities, namely Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. In ny remittance corridor as one of the top ten global remittance the 1950s, 75% of Turkey’s population was rural and this fact corridors (IOM Report, 2010, p. 185). Turkey received a total was reversed in 60 years. By 2010, Turkey’s population was of nearly 3 billion USD in remittances in 2002 (IMF, 2003). In 70% urban (UNFPA, 2007). It was internal migration which the same report the World Bank cites Turkey as being among played a vital role in this demographic and societal transfor- the countries in which the number of emigrants is greater mation. Moreover, rural to urban migration gained a different than the number of immigrants (p. 249). According to sta- dimension between the years 1984 and 1999 with the phe- tistics from the Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security nomenon of internal displacement of many people of Kurd- and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the total number of Turk- ish origin. These people were forced to leave their villages ish citizens living abroad was 3,765,175 by the end of 2009 259 (see Figure 1). While more than three million of those people ian speaking Muslims, and Tatars from the Balkans” (Kirişçi, live in European countries, a considerable percentage resides 2003, p. 3). According to the Law of Settlement promulgated in the USA, Canada, Australia and Middle Eastern countries. in 1934, only people who are of Turkish decent and culture Although the number of emigrants is larger than that of im- can migrate and settle in Turkey. As Erder points out, although migrants in Turkey, the trend is towards an increase in the it is not clear from this law what is meant by Turkish ethnicity number of people migrating to Turkey, which has led to inten- and culture, Muslims and communities from the Balkan region sification in immigration policy making. who speak Turkish have benefited from this law and migrated to Turkey (2003, p. 158). IMMIGRANTS IN TURKEY Among the people who migrated to Turkey between 1923 Turkey, which is mostly known as a country of emigration to and 1997, Bulgarians were the largest group of immigrants to other places, especially to Europe, has also been a country settle in Turkey. These Bulgarian immigrants, who have been Country Profile: Turkey Profile: Country of immigration and a country of asylum. Throughout history, called “göçmen” (which simply means migrant) by Turkish soci- people from other parts of the world have migrated to Turkey. ety, were given many opportunities by the Turkish state. They Immigration into Turkey has come especially from neighbour- were given a piece of land in Anatolia and Bulgarian immigrants ing countries with an unstable political, economic and social built their own houses and engaged in agriculture on these environment. For example, in the mid-1920s, a forced popu- blocks of land. lation exchange was carried out between Greece and Tur- In 1989, as a result of Bulgarian governmental policy towards key, this affecting half a million Muslims and Turks in Greece the ethnic identity of Turks, more than 300,000 ethnic Turks and over a million Greeks in Turkey. In this forced population and Pomaks migrated to Turkey after they were expelled from exchange, many families were torn apart and children and the country when they refused to accept a Bulgarian Slav iden- friends were left behind. Second, from 1923 to 1997, more tity, which was a part of a campaign of the Communist regime. than 1.6 million people migrated to Turkey mostly from Bal- This immigration to Turkey was really unexpected. After the kan countries. This immigration flow from the Balkan region collapse of the regime in 1990, one third of these Bulgarian also continued in 1989, 1992-1995 and in 1999. Third, immigrants returned to their country while the rest stayed and during the Cold War, asylum seekers from former Commu- obtained Turkish citizenship. However, as a result of Bulgaria’s nist Bloc states in Eastern Europe and from the Soviet Un- EU membership in 2007, many more Bulgarian immigrants ion fled to Turkey in thousands. By the late 1980s, there returned to reclaim Bulgarian citizenship. were increasing numbers of asylum seekers but this time The second pillar of the migration policy of Turkey is the 1951 from Iran and Iraq. Iranians sought refuge in Turkey after the Geneva Convention on refugees and asylum procedures. Turkey revolution in Iran in the 1980s while, from 1988 to 1991, has always been a country of asylum because of its geographi- there was a massive influx of mostly Kurdish refugees from cal closeness to unstable areas of the world. Historically, dur- Iraq. Since the 1990s, there have been refugee flows from ing the Ottoman era, there were Jewish people who fled from countries like Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Ethiopia. In addition to the refugee and asylum movements, irregular im- migration is also observed. However, it is not easy to define FIGURE 1: PERCENTAGE OF TURKISH CITIZENS regular-irregular or legal-illegal immigration because transit ABROAD BY COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE migration, human trafficking, refugee migration and asylum 2009 (%) Germany seeker flows are intertwined. What is striking is the extent of France Bulgaria refugee flows, asylum seekers and irregular immigration into Netherlands Cyprus1 Turkey. This has grown to a significant degree and has thus United States Azerbaijan prompted the EU to pressure Turkey to change and develop Austria Russian Fed. Saudi Arabia Netherlands in its migration policy. France U. Kingdom United States Denmark EVOLUTION OF IMMIGRATION POLICY 7% 3% 3% Saudi Arabia 2% 2% England Until the beginning of the year 2000, there were three legal 2% 2% 1% 1% 10% Austria pillars of migration policy in Turkey.
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