Ethnic Approach to Migration from Turkey to Germany

This week we had to cover 3 articles, plus watch a movie. I’ll try to touch upon some important points in relation to our class.

First Ibrahim Sirkeci’s short article ‘Migration from Turkey to Germany an Ethnic Approach’ deals with some important aspects and first makes out some clearance on the ‘conceptual remarks’. That is both governmental agencies and broader disciplinary specializations classifies migration flows in terms of ‘economic (labor movements) and political (asylum seekers, refugees) and in relation with his subject matter of the article ethnic conflict situation Sirkeci thinks that this distinction is not really helping. So he adopts the notion of ‘environment of insecurity’ and uses it in a war of ‘conceptualizing the role of ethnic conflict within various national migratory regimes. He suggests that this notion includes both material and non material components. His argument in the article is that migration abroad is an exit option among others and that it is a broader opportunity framework which has shaped the international migration of Turkish Kurds.

The article in general is very interesting, especially in the subsection of ‘migration as an alternative to conflict, conflict as an opportunity framework for migration’. At this point he mentions about his fieldwork in Cologne and give some examples from this work, truly interesting migrant stories.

At this point I would like to share with you a small real life story from a fieldwork which I’ve done as a course requirement with a friend. It was back in Denmark when I was an exchange student and taking a Methodology class of Anthropology we made a fieldwork which was questioning the role of kebab shops in integration. We came up with meeting some people and there were interesting life stories. One of the interviewers of us, whose father was a migrant to Sweden back thirty years ago when he was in the primary school, the father works for some time and sends money back home and also saves some and he then returns to’ home’ and buys animals with that money.  Later the son goes to Sweden as illegal migrant and then asks for asylum in economic terms. Stays there for some time and later he’s got rejected. Coming off from a Kurdish origin although when we talk he doesn’t have any special concerns in terms of ethnic conflict, he thinks that he might get the pass if he applies as a political asylum seeker and this time he was a political asylum seeker in Denmark when we met with him. Although this men openly has no problems in terms of ethnic conflict ‘off the record talks’ his cousin who already got the citizenship, whom migrated there in 80’s was very much involved with the Kurdish problem and was a truly political migration flow.  I think these are very much in line with the Cologne interviews which show that the reasons for migrating may not only be multiple but may also change over time.

It is also commonsense knowledge that the ethnic conflict is an important aspect in the Kurdish international migration from Turkey. There can be many other reasons behind and to distinguish an asylum seeker from an economic migrant is not very easy thing to say. Again it won’t be wrong to say that ethic conflict can be one among many explanatory aspects of the international migrations from Turkey.

I don’t want you reader to get bored and still I want to share you something so I’ll finalize my post after writing down a few words about the movie of the week ‘Kebab Connection’ by Fatih Akın. 

It is a family comedy and an absurd love story. The movie is of course have stereotypical images of Turkish fathers and about date relationships within the community and how young Ibo- a second generation?!- deals with all these and more with his dreams of becoming the first director of a Kung fu movie of Germany but rather makes his uncle happy to earn his money. More you see the competition among different migrants of origin Turkish and the Greek, Doner vs Gyros. While watching the movie satisfaction is not guaranteed that tastes differ. But still you may capture some hints of the migrant life in Hamburg Germany.

Ps: If you still didn’t watch the movie and in case you do not have anything to do, plus its Sunday and there’s an early class tomorrow… well you can reach it from here.