ARMENIAN MIGRANTS IN TURKEY: AN ALL-FEMALE STORY
Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso
Nov 20 2012
Italy
Unofficial data state that between 10 and 20.000 Armenian immigrants
work in Turkey illegally. The majority of them are women. Their
children have no documents and are not granted the right to education.
Our report
Istanbul, the courtyard of the Armenian Church of Surp Hovhannes.
Every evening, the coming and going of people intensifies with the
setting of the sun. Young Armenian women, immigrant workers, take turns
in taking their children home after school, an elementary school in
the basement of the church. It is an illegal school, attended by 105
children: most of them do not hold an identity card, as they were born
in Turkey from parents without a residence permit. This phenomenon
affects around 1.000 children across Turkey and is one of the most
serious problems for those Armenian immigrants who are “illegal”.
Unofficial reports state that between 10 and 20.000 Armenian immigrants
work in Turkey without the required permits. The majority of them
are women. The difficult economic situation encountered in Armenia
has lead them abroad to seek work. For the vast number of different
opportunities it offers, Istanbul has become the main destination
for most of these women. They have found a job in factories, textile
workshops, or in trade between the two Countries.
The majority of them, however, work in households as cleaners,
caregivers for the elderly and the ill or baby-sitters.
Immigrant stories The men, on the other hand, are very often
unemployed: for them, the main occupation is that of taking care of
their families so that nothing bad happens to them. Some Armenian
immigrants, though, work for the Grand Bazaar goldsmiths or as
shoemakers in the GedikpaÅ~_a workshops. It is so for A. ‘We are here
to work. Why would I be here if there were work in Armenia?’ In just
a few words, the man – who prefers his identity be kept secret – tells
the reason why he is in Istanbul with his wife and daughter. A. points
out, however, that he has really nothing to complain about.
One of the headmistresses of Surp Hovhannes elementary school, states:
‘I have three children and we could not live off my teaching salary in
Armenia’. A graduate, like so many other women who decided to leave
their Country. ‘We have been living in Istanbul for 7 years. For a
few months at the beginning, before working at the school, I was a
caregiver. I had to quit, though, because it was troubling for me
not to be treated equally’.
The Armenian immigrants live mainly in Kumkapı, one of the historical
quarters of the Armenians “native” of Istanbul, whose community counts
60.000 people. Here, the cheap and not very decent “rooms for singles”,
a few years ago intended for migrants coming from Anatolia, have in
time become lodgings for migrants coming from abroad. Many of them
share small spaces with various people.
‘I’ve been here since 2002. I live with my husband, my daughter and
my mother-in-law. When we first came here, it was not easy to find a
home. We were lucky, because my mother-in-law was already here. Now,
there is word-of-mouth for available rooms starting from the bus
station’, Y. tells us. Her daughter is in sixth grade.
A 36 hour journey The station Y. is talking about is Emniyet Otogar,
where there are buses between Istanbul and Yerevan once a week. Since
the border between Turkey and Armenia is shut, the trip goes through
Georgia. It takes at least 36 hours, to arrive. The round trip costs
100 Dollars.
A real deal, compared to the 750-Dollar ticket to fly from Yerevan
to Istanbul.
Why Turkey? Many immigrants give the same answer: ‘It’s the closest
destination, it has a local Armenian population and it’s easier
than Ukraine and Russia to enter for the first time. You only need
a tourist visa that you can buy at the border. It’s only 15 Dollars
and it’s valid for one month’.
Once in Turkey, though, problems begin. Indeed, if there is work,
it is always illicit and undeclared. Until last February, a foreigner
could renew his tourist visa by exiting Turkish soil for one day only.
Now, the new law combating immigrants’ irregular work states that after
3 months in Turkey, the “tourist” must leave and cannot re-enter the
Country before 90 days have gone by.
If for many immigrants exiting Turkey every month was out of the
question, it all becomes more difficult with wages ranging from 550 to
800 Dollars. And the outlook of employers regularly hiring and paying
the 780 Dollars required by law remains a chimera. Indeed, nothing
seems to have concretely changed in the lives of those affected: ‘We
keep living with the fear of the visa and deportation’, M. worriedly
tells us.
R. has a different point of view: two years ago, she caught up with
her husband and mother-in-law (both having regular residence permits)
and according to her, ‘the police know how to tell people apart. They
don’t do anything to good people who work’. Her husband has undergone
three surgeries and has the right to be admitted to Turkish hospitals.
Those who are “illegal”, instead, are admitted to the Surp Pırgic
hospital of the Armenian community in Istanbul.
R.’s biggest hurt, however, is not being able to see her parents. Her
mother has come to visit them, but her youngest daughter of 1 has
never met her grandparents. ‘If we went, it would not be so easy
to come back….’ Those who are spot at the border’s exit can only
re-enter by paying a 15-Dollar fine for each day spent illegally in the
Country, or by accepting not to enter Turkey again for 5 years. ‘All
my relatives are in Armenia’, S. tells. ‘If there isn’t a wedding or
a funeral, we can’t move from here and this hurts us a lot. We are
not even comforted by the fact that we can send money home’.
Children with no documents It is the youngest, however, who are most
penalized by this situation.
When an “illegal” couple of Armenian immigrants bears a child in
Turkey, it cannot apply for citizenship for the newborn. The lack
of diplomatic relations between Ankara and Yerevan, moreover, makes
everything even more complicated. The child cannot obtain a passport
if not by going to Armenia. Without any identification, though, the
child cannot cross the border. ‘My daughter can’t envisage Armenia,
when I tell her about it. For her, it’s a very distant reality’,
another immigrant tells us. It is a dog biting its own tail. But it
is not over.
The tangle of prohibitions and difficulties negatively affects the
right of children to education. Children of Armenian immigrants,
with an Armenian passport or without identity documents, cannot
attend Turkish public schools. Starting from last year, a provision
has granted these children to enroll in the 17 schools of the local
Armenian communities as “guests”, meaning they can attend classes
without having any degree issued and recognized on a national level.
Few children have enrolled, this year. According to the interviewees,
this is because the families run the risk of being exposed and also
because, even though it is in Armenian schools, the educational
curriculum is completely tailored to the Turkish curriculum and makes
no reference to the Armenian people and its history. This would in
no way allow the children to settle in the Armenian schools, should
they ever go back. Then, there is the language issue: Eastern Armenian
(spoken in Armenia) is indeed different from that used in Turkey.
Surp Hovhannes Elementary For ten years, the Surp Hovhannes elementary
school has been trying to remedy this difficult situation while Turkish
authorities, given the lack of valid alternatives, turn a blind eye
to its “illegality”. Six classes managed by seven voluntary teachers
follow the Armenian schools’ curriculum.
‘At the beginning there were only seven children. Now, there are
over a hundred, including those in kindergarten. This year, we have
managed to open the sixth class as well, but for next year there is
no more room’, one of the school’s headmistresses explains.
Various joint initiatives are what is keeping the school alive: ‘The
church provides the space and pays all the bills. Since the third
year, the Caritas has supplied meals for the children and given us
two cleaners, so we don’t have to take care of that too. The Ministry
for the Armenian Diaspora provides the books. Last year, the city of
Bakırköy organized sports activities for the children, and supplied
buses to attend them. Once it also paid for dentist appointments’.
Where are the children going to go when there is no more room? ‘Two
friends of mine have gone back to Armenia to live with their
grandparents’, say N., 12 years-old. ‘Two other friends started
attending the local Armenian schools, but they say everything is
different from here’.
The Mother is still uncertain on what to do. She only seems sure about
one thing: ‘One day, even when we get old, we’ll go back to Armenia.
The children must not break the ties with their native Country’.
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http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Regions-and-countries/Turkey/Armenian-migrants-in-Turkey-an-all-female-story-125834