Turkish Migration 2016 Selected Papers

Turkish Migration 2016 - Selected Papers - Compiled by Deniz Eroglu, Jeffrey H. Cohen, Ibrahim Sirkeci offers a selection of papers presented at the Migration Conference 2016 held in Vienna, Austria. The pieces collected here are just a sample of the work that was presented at the 2016 Turkish Migration conference. Our meeting, the 4th symposium on Turkish migration, brought together scholars from around the globe to share their research and debate mobility. As in our earlier symposia, we explored demography, sociology, culture and art as they are related to mobility. New this year was an increasing awareness of the “return” of Turks to Turkey from Germany, the challenges faced by Syrian refugees who have settled in Turkey or are passing through the country on their way to Europe as well as issues facing Kurdish minorities, Roma and other minority groups living in or transiting through Turkey. This collection is challenged by two competing poles. One pole is centered in xenophobic nationalism. Around this pole, migrants and refugees are described as criminals, religious fanatics and “moochers" who challenge the working class and the freedoms that come with life in the West. The second pole laments the insecurity that migrants and refugees face. Around this pole, movers are described as victims who lack so much at home. In this example, migrants and refugees are moving because there are no jobs and few prospects for work; civil liberties are proscribed and banned in the face of state imposed limits and there are no opportunities to strike out on a unique path to the future. Complicating both poles is the 24-hour news cycle that denies us the opportunity to understand and analyze. Instead, we are forced to pick one pole or the other. In either case, the outcome dehumanizes the mover, signals their pathos and emphasizes why they are different.