Social Integration of Migrants in Turkey: The Case of Balkan Women

The female migrants left their home country because they had a well-founded fear of persecution and this fear may include many reasons including war, old norms, and traditional customs that might victimize women, just like ‘refugee’[1] definition of 1951 Geneva Convention. The traditional norms and customs may involve genital mutilation, forced marriages (also at an early age), not access to education, discrimination based on religion or sex, forced labor, or prostitution. Just like the refugee definition, women may have these concerns and choose a way of migrating to another country since it is their right as a ‘human’.

At the end of 2020, there were 82.4 million forcibly displaced people in the world, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).[2] The number doubled since 2010.[3] Approximately, the number of international migrants reached 272 million, and it is continuing an upward trend in all world regions. [4] In light of this information, it is significant to mention that Turkey is one of the most popular countries in migration due to its geographical position. Over 4 million refugees and asylum seekers are currently living in Turkey and this makes Turkey the world’s largest country for hosting refugees and asylum seekers. [5]

Turkey is accepted as geography where important civilizations lived. It is known that the states, which were founded on such a cauldron of immigrants and the synthesis of civilizations, took various measures and produced solutions for the social, political, and administrative problems that came with immigration. Migration fluctuations in Turkey have not been widespread recently; it continued before and after the Republican period. A common feature of these people who migrated to Anatolia is that they experienced extremely tragic losses in the past.

The most important and first migration movement of the Republican period took place with the Turkish-Greek exchange in 1923 and it was a mutual decision agreement. It is known that 384 thousand people came from Greece between 1922-1938.[6] During the same period, there was a mass migration from Yugoslavia and Macedonia to Turkey and it was another important migration movement in the history of Turkey. This migration flow was actualized in three waves in the years 1924, 1936, and 1953.[7] A total of 305,158 people from 77,431 families migrated from Yugoslavia to Turkey during the Republican period and 14,494 people from these families who came until 1950 were resettled by the state and the other part of the families settled in Turkey as free immigrants.[8] Another great migration wave that took place in Anatolia during the Republican period was the migration movements from Bulgaria. Immigration from Bulgaria continued at intervals until 1989, which reached about 800 thousand people during this period and took place in four stages.[9] In the 1980s, almost a million Balkan people migrated to Turkey and almost all of these Balkan immigrants were granted full citizenship upon their arrival in Turkey. Balkan immigrants are mostly settled in the Marmara and Aegean regions in Turkey. [10]

People who migrated from Balkan after the Republican period were mostly Muslim and spoke Turkish. Statistics are showing the qualifications of immigrants coming to Turkey such as age, gender, education, occupation, mother tongue, and marital status are insufficient. However, we can only collect data from specific years and groups. [11] Immigrants had a higher literate population than the average of Turkey's population in those years and the literacy rate is more common, especially among women. [12]

Around the 1990s, the migration flows in the Balkan region changed from those observed during the previous decades in terms of direction, type, and size.[13] Balances in Balkan changed also with the disintegration of Yugoslavia. [14] Many Balkans had to leave the region through destructive wars. In the following decade, Montenegro (2006) and Kosovo (2008) declared their independence.[15] Therefore, newly independent states’ borders in the region become definite.

Turkey was still a proper option but became a secondary for Balkan women while their way started to shift to Europe. For instance, the case of Albanian women can be relevant to emigration, driven above all by the serious economic and political crisis the country was undergoing and they were mostly targeted nearby European Mediterranean countries, especially, Italy and Greece, while Germany, Turkey, or France were secondary countries of destination. [16]

Although Turkey has become a secondary option for Balkan people, Turkey is still hosting high numbers of immigrants from Balkan countries and they are mostly holding full citizenship. Migration is not a new phenomenon for Turkey thanks to its historical and cultural ties with Balkan in the past. Eventually, Turkey adopted and enlarged its policy toward migration because it has increased in years also thanks to migration flow from different regions. In this regard and as a matter of migration, integration is one of the most crucial aspects of it, for instance, if there is not well integration policy of a state, the recipient society and immigrants may face difficulties even in daily life. Especially, it may affect migrant women more since Turkey defines them ‘vulnerable’ or as ‘people who need special needs.

1. Asylum Policy of Turkey from a Gender Perspective

 In Turkey, half of the immigrants are women and young girls although they are often unable to travel long distances, they risk their lives to do it. Besides life-threatened facts among women and young girls on their road, they may also face gender-based violence in the host country, in this case, Turkey, just because they are women who are seen as vulnerable. Women and girls asylum seekers face difficulties both in physical and psychological ways. The biggest reaction that they face is intersecting forms of discrimination because it is based on their sex and on additional grounds they face discrimination because of their race, ethnicity, or religion.

In Turkish laws and regulations, gender has not become an issue mentioned in the definition of the migration concept. In the EU-inspired Law on Foreigners, International Protection (LFIP) and the Temporary Protection Law, women refer to persons who need special needs and/or are described as in a vulnerable position.[17] This makes Turkey’s approach not comprehensive in gender issues regarding the concept of migration.

According to the LFIP regulation, persons with special needs may also refer to unaccompanied minors, disabled people, pregnant women, people who experienced torture in their country of origin, a single mother with an accompanying child, or people who faced rape and other serious violence types might include both physical and psychological one.[18] Moreover, again in the same regulation (LFIP), one more reference to migrant women can be found in Article 34 regarding the family’s residence permit, and in this specific article, the protection is extended to all wives in polygamous marriages.[19] Unlike the LFIP, the Temporary Protection Regulation enlarges the protection to all persons instead of referring specifically to women who are in need of special needs.  

In the context of the LFIP, Turkey’s first migration agency, the DGMM, was founded under the Ministry of Interior and Provincial (DGMM) Directorates were established in every single Turkish province.[20] Since 2018, these subsidiary bodies of DGMM have begun to evaluate people’s international protection applications.[21] With this movement of Turkey, meaning the establishment of the DGMM, the UNHCR’s registration activities came to an end. The DGMM oversees the implementation of the LFIP and at the same time coordinates asylum and migration policies in Turkey. In the previous years, the UNHCR was responsible for conducting de facto refugee status determination.

The rights of migrant women in these regulations and the aforementioned protection grounds make them one more step toward integration. However, the lack of interpreters and the lack of training of migration experts in the field appeared as another problem in the integration of migrant women in Turkey. Plus, long-waiting procedures to renew the residence permit leave women and young girls unregistered in the Turkish administrative system and this makes them disappear from society since they cannot do anything without a document in Turkey (ex. traveling within the borders, access to health, etc.). In the DGMM branches, there is a gender insensitive approach, for instance, migrant women have the right to documentation, including identity papers issued in their own names, however, DGMM is asking for their marital status in practice. Another issue regarding the gender insensitive approach is that divorced migrant women have to prove this with documents to receive the Red Crescent card which is for health aid. Fortunately, Balkan migrant women in Turkey do not face aggressive discrimination thanks to their common past with Ottoman Empire. In Turkish people’s understanding, their migration status is much more understandable compared to another migrational status because a high number of Balkan people were already living in current Turkish territories and vice versa.

1.1.    Turkey’s Temporary Asylum System towards Integration

In Turkey, the asylum system is based on a dual structure which means it maintains a geographical limitation to the 1951 Refugee Convention.[22] In other words, if an international protection applicant is originating from Europe, for instance, from Bulgaria or Bosnia, her/his status can be determined as a refugee in Turkey under Article 1(A)(2) of the 1951 Convention.  In the last decade, Turkey adopted the EU-inspired Law on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIO).[23] This treaty established a dedicated legal framework for people who seek asylum in Turkey and it approves all people in need of international protection, without considering their country of origin.

The legal regime concerning Turkish temporary protection is regulated by Article 91 of Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP) and the Temporary Protection Regulation. The LFIO is providing three types of international protection status for asylum and it is in accordance with Turkey’s ‘geographical limitation’ approach to the 1951 Convention. The first protection type is for people who fall within the refugee definition and are originally from Europe. The second type is for people who fall within the refugee definition of the 1951 Convention but the difference from the first type is protecting those who come from non-European countries of origin, in this case, people are defined as conditional refugee status which is a Turkish legal concept. The third protection type is for people who cannot be described as either refugee status or conditional refugee status but would be under threat of the death penalty or torture in their country of origin so they would be at individualized risk of indiscriminate violence, in this case, they are qualified for subsidiary protection status. [24]

Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP), provides a well-rounded legal framework for the protection of migrant people in Turkey, and this regulation entered into force in 2014. Before this regulation, asylum or migrant-related issues were regulated by Regulation No 1994/6169 on the Procedures and Principles regarding Possible Population Movements and Aliens Arriving in Turkey.

Turkey’s asylum system reform was closely connected with its EU membership process. [25] Turkey adopted the Accession Partnership Document which is incorporating the following aim ‘continue with alignment with the acquis in the field of asylum, in particular through the lifting of the geographical limitation to the Geneva Convention and through strengthening protection, social support, and integration measures for refugees[26] Turkey has formed a special task force in terms of migration and asylum. This task force produced the ‘Strategy Paper on Activities Foreseen in the Field of Asylum within the Process of Turkey’s Accession to the EU (Asylum Strategy Paper)’ in 2003.[27] Moreover, Turkey introduced its National Program (NP) about the Adoption of EU acquis communities (legislation),[28] and they undertook ‘initiation of harmonization process with EU legislation in the field of asylum has been identified as a priority in the Accession Partnership Document of 2003 and it is foreseen that administrative and technical capacity be improved particularly through the maintenance of works in developing accommodation and social support mechanisms for refugees. Following the enactment of the Draft Bill on Asylum, administrative arrangements shall be put into force and the harmonization process with the European Union legislation shall continue. [29]

All these regulations and law enforcement refer that Turkey is taking action to protect people who need international protection. Turkey’s approach toward migration might not be gender sensitive perspective, however, its regulation system is based on a protection perspective. Since women might be alone and/or in need of special needs (based on Turkey’s perspective in terms of migration), being protected may feel safer and this impact may reflect in their social status to be more integrated into society. Baside protection grounds, Turkey forbids discrimination for the following reasons. Pursuant to Article 3 of the Turkish Law: ‘each person may equally benefit from legal rights and freedoms. The Law forbids discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, nationality, skin color, language, religion, philosophical or political opinion, wealth, birth, marital status, medical condition, disability or age.[30] In terms of migration and integration concepts, discrimination is one of the learning facts that migrant women are facing due to untruthful bias against them.

Integration policy should aim for equality among all of the nations in a country, in this case, Turkey. Turkey is one of the OSCE countries and they agreed upon a number of commitments in the field of migrant integration. Pursuant to the Migrant Integration Policy Index assessment which is carried out by the Migration Policy Group, Turkey is agreed to promote the integration of migrants with respect for cultural and religious diversity and facilitate dialogue, co-operation on migration-related issues and create the conditions for promoting equality of opportunity in respect of working conditions, education, social security and health services, and housing. [31] Therefore it can be concluded effective policies of integration of migrants are part of the commitments of Turkey as one of the OSCE participating States in the area of migration.

   1.2. The Situation of Balkan Women in the Migration Process

 The long history of migration flow from Balkan countries to Turkey has not been deeply researched from a gender perspective, in other words, Balkan women are invisible in migration literature in Turkey. Although Balkan migrant flow was long and Turkey experienced mass migration from this region, there are not comprehensive reflections in the Turkish literature in terms of migration of Balkan women from a gender perspective. Therefore, Anthias and Cederberh’s argument fits this gender-blind approach: ‘Gender is not the mainstream in the migration literature. Indeed much of this literature remains inattentive to issues of gender’ (Anthias and Cederberg, 2006). [32]

Since the 1990s, Balkan women (also called as ex-Soviet women) migrants became the focus of women's rights or gender studies. Although they didn’t take place in literature most of the time, there was a sure thing that they contributed to the diversity of migrant women in Turkey because they were from a different welfare regime. Even though Balkan women are culturally similar to Turkish women in terms of religion and ethnicity, they came from different regions of Balkan with their special contributions to Turkish society. Since there is no detailed information about ex-Soviet women's migration, as Schrover and Moloney argument may fit here: ‘it is not so much the migration of women that has increased. Rather, there has been an increased focus on migrant women’ (Schrover and Moloney 2014). [33]

The interesting fact is that women in Balkan countries did not only migrate to Turkey for reasons of war but also there were a lot of divorce cases during the 1990s because of domestic violence and the rise of alcoholism.[34] Balkan women (Bulgarians followed by Albanians) migrated mostly alone thanks to their female networks in Turkey, in most cases their mothers, but also thanks to other relatives and friends.[35] Perhaps, it is understandable why Turkey describes migrant women as people who have special needs or are in a vulnerable position since they mostly migrated alone in need of help. In this case, they are already in a vulnerable position in their home country because of domestic violence, etc. and they are migrating to another country (Turkey) maybe without even speaking the language of it so this might make them more in need. Language struggle is a recent topic comparing the decades before the 90s because Balkan and Turks culturally were more in contact in the past.

All the Balkan countries experienced different regimes and were ruled by different ideological policies so this means migration reasons were changing from time to time.[36] Though, for instance, female unemployment was high across the region and women migrated for economic reasons to find better conditions in terms of employment. During the economic crisis across Balkan, women were forced to work in informal economic sectors such as seasonal work. In Turkey, since the first business women’s clusters exists, women's entrepreneurship was quite a new framework for some Balkan countries such as Bosnia Herzegovina and Montenegro, therefore, employment became another reason in terms of migration to Turkey.[37]

It might be important to underline that the migration process is affecting the mental health of women and this situation is under international protection as well.[38] Many studies[39] highlight that forced migration affects the mental health of women simply because it has a negative impact and possibly develops mental health problems in their future life. One of the most common psychological health problems of migrant women that they are facing is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which can be characterized as depression or anxiety.[40] If a woman suffers from this psychological problem, she will need special care. Since it makes women more vulnerable, they will need their representatives in the area where they are located in because they cannot search for help from a distance. In this case, it shows us that a state policy towards migration specifically on health aid is highly crucial. It might be life-saving and it might be highly important for them to get in touch with the public since they might need an education or a job. Proper communications and help centers must be provided. These must be accessible for migrants otherwise the negative impact of integration results may not make the host country glad for it.

Forced migration, exchange agreements, wars, different ruling regimes, domestic violence, and employment; Balkan women who were on the way to Turkey, experienced various types of motivation to migrate. This migration flow from the Balkans to Turkey has a long history and various consequences for both regions and affects on the individual level as well.

        1.3 Assimilation or Integration

Migration policies of a state can relatively change in time since the flow of migration may change, in this case, Turkey. NGOs and other relevant state actors are highly critical in migration policies because relevant state actors’ reporting system is effective for migrants’ integration into society and access to other services since they are closer to society, they know more about their needs in practical terms.

Migration policies are the “rules (i.e., laws, regulations, and measures) that national states define and implement with the (often only implicitly stated) objective of affecting the volume, origin, direction, and internal composition of immigration flows” (Czaika and de Haas, 2013, p. 489)[41]. In addition to aiming at migration flows, migration policies may also seek to impact emigration flows, as well as integration, assimilation, and development outcomes in countries of origin and destination (de Haas and Vezzoli, 2011; Kuschminder & Koser, 2017; Skeldon, 2007).

In both anthropology and sociology, assimilation is the process whereby migrant people are absorbed into the dominant society of the host country. Assimilated migrant people who belong to different ethnic heritage, become socially indistinguishable from the host country's society.[42] In other words, assimilation is a concept that shows up as an extreme form of acculturation. Measuring assimilation might be a challenge for Turkey because data on cultural practices—things like food, dress, and accent—cannot be systematically collected. The concept of assimilation can be compelled through undertaking voluntarily or by force. However, it is rare to find a group of migrants that completely replace their previous cultural practices such as food preferences, or religion. Considering forced assimilation as an aspect of migration policy might be challenging for a country. It is rarely successful and moreover, it might bring negative results for the recipient country.

Unlike assimilation, integration is the process that immigrants in the host country become accepted into society, both as individuals and/or as groups.[43] Acceptance conditions of integration may differ from country to country due to cultural traditions, therefore, the definition of integration is deliberately open to comment. The integration process is the ultimate outcome of the interaction between the immigrants and the receiving society. [44]  Compared to assimilation, integration policies of the host country, in terms of migration, might bring much more positive results for the receiving state because integration may help both sides how to live together even belonging to different cultures. 

At the societal level, the reflection of the migration policies of Turkey regarding Balkan people has a positive impact thanks to cultural ties. Balkan women immigrants in Turkey might be counted as one of the lucky ones regarding integration without assimilation since they had a common history with Turks. Without a doubt, historical cultural ties between the two regions made socializing even easier. Usually, non-EU or other nationalities have more difficulties in terms of social integration (finding a job, access to education, etc.). Without having common ties in the past or cultural common ties in general, surely social integration is not impossible but most likely assimilation can be the case. In other words, immigrants are not using their cultural or traditional norms in daily life in the host country but if they have similarities they are most likely getting used to staying integrated, and living like the host country’s population but not forgetting about their culture so without assimilating.

The historical ties between the peoples of Turkey and the countries of the region have extended until today. There are Turkish minorities and communities as well as in communities in the Balkan countries on the one hand; whereas there are citizens of Balkan origin in Turkey on the other. Thus any crisis in the Balkans affects Turkey closely and thus, the preservation of peace and stability in the Balkans bears vital importance for Turkey also in that respect. Turkey believes that the international presence, especially in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, is important and necessary both for the strengthening of the state structures in these countries and regional stability. Turkey, therefore, contributes to all international presences and initiatives in the region. Balkan countries themselves can make an essential contribution to their own future and intensively deliberate on the development of authentic cooperation mechanisms in the Balkans.

Bibliography

[1] ‘Refugee’ is defined by Turkish law as ‘an alien who as a result of events occurring in Europe and owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, or having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it’. The 1994 Regulation.

[2]  https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/statistics/

[3] UNHCR Global Trends Forced Displacement in 2020 report.

[4] UN, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, The number of international migrants reaches 272 million, September 2019.

[5] The World Bank, 10 Years On, Turkey Continues Its Support for an Ever-Growing Number of Syrian Refugees, June 22, 2021.

[6] TC İçişleri Bakanlığı Göç İdaresi Genel Müdürlüğü; Kitlesel Akınlar. https://www.goc.gov.tr/kitlesel-akinlar#_ftn8

[7] Köy Hizmetleri Genel Müdürlüğü: Hizmet Uygulamaları Genel Envanteri, Uygulama Raporları ve Notları, Ankara-1996.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Doğanay, Filiz, “Türkiye’ye Göçmen Olarak Gelenlerin Yerleşimi” DPT.YBM 1997, Ankara, Kasım 1996.

[10] Geniş, Şerife, and Kelly Lynne Maynard. “Formation of a Diasporic Community: The History of Migration and Resettlement of Muslim Albanians in the Black Sea Region of Turkey.” Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 45, no. 4, Taylor & Francis, Ltd., 2009, pp. 553–69, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40262689.

[11] Ibid 8.

[12] Ibid 8.

[13] Corrado Bonifazi, Cinzia Conti and Marija Mamolo Les migrations internationales balkaniques des années 1990.

[14] Republic of Turkey – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Relations with the Balkan Region. https://www.mfa.gov.tr/relations-with-the-balkan-region.en.mfa

[15] Fawn, Rick. The Kosovo: And Montenegro: Effect, International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), Published By: Oxford University Press. Vol. 84, No. 2 (Mar., 2008), pp. 269-294.

[16] Misja V. (1996), “Albania”, in T. Frejka (ed.), International migration in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Geneva, United Nations.

[17] Coşkun, Bezen B. Women, Peace and Security Agenda and Turkey’s Refugee and Asylum Policies. Centre for Applied Turkey Studies, April 2021.

[18] Article 3 (l) of the LFIP.

[19] Article 34 (1,2,3) of the LFIP.

[20] Asylum Information Database (AIDA), Country Report: Turkey. May 18, 2015.

[21] Asylum Information Database (AIDA), Country Report: Turkey, 2019 Update.

[22] Asylum Information Database (AIDA), Country Report: Introduction to the asylum context in Turkey, May 2021.

[23] Country Report: Introduction to the asylum context in Turkey, Asylum Information Database (AIDA), May 2021. https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/turkey/introduction-asylum-context-turkey/

[24] Ibid.

[25] See B. Cicekli, ‘Impact of the EU Membership Process on the Development of the Turkish Immigration Law’, in P. Shah and W. Menski (eds) Migration, Diasporas and Legal Systems in Europe, London: Cavendish, 2006, pp. 267-283.

[26] COUNCIL DECISION of 18 February 2008 on the principles, priorities and conditions contained in the Accession Partnership with the Republic of Turkey and repealing Decision 2006/35/EC (2008/157/EC).

[27] There has been two more strategy papers produced by the task force, which touch on asylum and migration, entitled the ‘Strategy Paper on the Protection of External Borders in Turkey’ in April 2003 and the ‘Strategy Paper to Contribute Migration Management Action Plan in Turkey (Migration Strategy Paper), in October 2003.

[28] Official Journal, n 25178 of July 2003.

[29] Article 24.1.

[30] Article 3. This new Law revoked the “Code on Turkish Human Rights Institution” no. 6332, dated 21 June 2012 ("Amended Law").

[31] OSCE, TURKEY A Migrant Integration Policy Index assessment, carried out by Migration Policy Group, October 2013.

[32] Floya Anthias, Maja Cederberg. State of the Art Theoretical Perspectives and Debates in the UK. Oxford Brookes University, 2006.

[33] Marlou Schrover, Deirdre M. Moloney (Eds) 2013 Amsterdam University Press Gender, Migration and Categorisation : Making Distinctions between Migrants in Western Countries, 1945-2010. Frans Lelie, September 2014.

[34] Vermeulen, Hans. Migration in the Southern Balkans: From Ottoman Territory to Globalized Nation States. SpringerOpen, 2015.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Bonifazi C. and Mamolo M., Past and Current Trends of Balkan Migrations, ESPACE, POPULATIONS, SOCIETES, 2004-3 pp. 519-531.

[37] Gabriella Schubert and Johanna Deimel (eds), Women in the Balkans / Southeastern Europe. BiblionMedia, Leipzig, 2016.

[38] Ibid.

[39] See for instance: Maria Kristiansen: Health effects of migration; available at: http://www.danmedbul.dk/DMB_2007/0107/0107-artikler/DMB3871.pdf; and World Health Organisation (WHO) Helath of migrants; Report by the Secretatrait, April 2008 available at: http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/A61/A61_12-en.pdf

[40] Fatahi Nabi; The Impact of the Migration on Psychosocial Well-Being: A Study of Kurdish Refugees in Resettlement Country. J Community in Community Medicine & Health Education Vol. 4, No. 2 (December 2014).

[41] Czaika and de Haas. The Globalization of Migration. Has the world really become more migratory? International Migration Institute, University of Oxford, 2013, p 489.

[42] Pauls, Elizabeth Prine. "assimilation". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Aug. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/assimilation-society. Accessed 27 October 2021.

[43]Rinus Penninx. Integration: The Role of Communities, Institutions, and the State, Migration Policy of Institute, October 1, 2003. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/integration-role-communities-institutions-and-state

[44] Ibid.