Forced Immigration and Its Effects: Diyarbakir

Zorunlu Göç ve Etkileri: Diyarbakır [Türkçe, Diyarbakır, 2006]

Forced Immigration and Its Effects: Diyarbakir [English, Diyarbakır , 2006]

Forced migration and Diyarbakir [English, İstanbul, 2010]

Zorunlu Göç ve Diyarbakır [Türkçe, İstanbul, 2010]

FORCED MIGRATION AND ITS EFFECTS DİYARBAKIR

The Development Centre is a non-profit working group aiming at conducting research in rural and urban areas where development needs are most urgent, developing projects and realistic and replicable models in the field context and hence generating long-lasting impact on all relevant sections of society. The centre was established in Diyarbakır in October 2004.

Why a survey on the process of forced migration?

We believe that social and economic problems faced in Diyarbakır mostly derive from forced migration. Although about 15 years have passed since the process of forced migration first started, its impacts are still felt and problems it generated turn into permanent ones by gaining further depth. Thus we decided to make this situation more visible by sharing the findings of this survey and to make a call on authorities to take action to fulfill their responsibilities to improve the present situation.

All members and volunteers of the Development Centre took part in the process of survey and writing of this report.

Many persons, impossible to cite their names here, have contributed to this work voluntarily. We thank them all for being with us and contributing to our work.

We are particularly grateful to the members of Aziziye and Benusen “White Butterfly” laundrettes, “Gleam of Hope” Women Cooperative, neighbourhood dwellers who welcomed us throughout the field survey as well as headmen of these neighbourhoods.

Our thanks are also due to Ayşe Gündüz Hoşgör from the METU for her voluntary contributions to survey design and statistics and to Özgür Arun for his help in transforming collected data into meaningful tables.

Special thanks to Şemsa Özar from the Boğaziçi University who spent days and nights voluntarily working with us at all stages of the survey.

The Diyarbakır Chamber of Industry and Commerce made their conference halls open for the workshop on 31 May 2006 when we presented the draft of this survey to audience and İlhan Diken, Deputy Mayor of Diyarbakır Greater Municipality made the opening speech of the workshop. We thank both of them and to all participants, including Dilek Kurban from the TESEV who were present at the workshop.

We are also grateful to the UNDP Representation in Turkey who contributed to the printing of Turkish and English editions of the survey.

CONTENTS

Foreword / 5
I. Introduction / 6
II. Research Methods / 7
III. Survey Area / 11
IV. Migration Process / 15
V. Past: Life in a Village / 23
VI. After 15 Years: Life in Diyarbakır / 26
VII. Tendency to Return to Villages / 62
VIII. Assessment and Policy Proposals / 68

Annexes:
Annex 1. Survey questionnaire / 77
Annex 2. Impressions of an interviewer / 91
Annex 3. Guiding questionnaire for in-depth interviews and focus group meetings / 96
Annex 4. Neighbourhood general information form / 99
Annex 5. Problems raised by respondents in relation to women's situation, their families, their neighbourhoods and return to villages and their suggestions for solving the problems / 100

As the metropolitan centre of the region of South-eastern Anatolia, the city of Diyarbakır was one of the focal points where people facing forced migration rushed during the 90s. The population of the province doubled within such a short period of time as 5 years from 1990 to 1995. Great majority of these people are still living together in some neighbourhoods located at the centre and peripheral parts of the city. Children born to these families had their childhood amidst stories of past village life and migration told by their elders, school life in neighbourhood schools, struggle in the streets of Diyarbakır where they worked to support their families as well as in cotton and hazel nut fields where they seasonally moved with their families again for subsistence. It is not possible to say that the life has changed much in these neighbourhoods for the last 15 years.

With this study we aimed at understanding the life and experiences of people who had to leave their villages and move to Diyarbakır starting from their past village life up to their present situation. Within this framework, inhabitants of neighbourhoods we visited told us their past life in villages, what they experienced during migration and how their life turned out to be since they settled in Diyarbakır. While doing this, they analysed not only their past but also their present situation and shared with us their future expectations and dreams. We hope to relate to you their stories in a genuine way.

Although our main motive in this study was to understand a specific process, our objective is of course not limited to a passive understanding only. Nevertheless, we believe that every step in solving the problems of the victims of forced migration should start with a real understanding of their situation. Thus, in the last part of this report we list suggestions to positively change the present situation of people we visited in their neighbourhoods as well as their demands and expectations. It is our sincere wish that these suggestions are taken into account by central government units, local governments and NGOs and that their problems find a place in the overall agenda of the country...

FORCED MIGRATION AND ITS EFFECTS DİYARBAKIR

DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
Training, Research, Implementation, Counselling, Production and Enterprise
Cooperative

June 2006, Diyarbakır

Ekinciler Caddesi, Kristal Apartmanı
Kat: 5 No: 21
Ofis /DİYARBAKIR
Tel-Fax: 0 412 229 18 12
E-mail: kalkinmamerkezi@yahoo.com
web site: www.kalkinmamerkezi.org