İSTANBUL’DAKİ AFRİKALI GÖÇMENLERİN ULUSÖTESİ SOSYAL ALANLARININ ENTEGRASYON SÜREÇLERİNE ETKİSİ

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, there has been a growing interest in the intersections between integration and transnationalism (Erdal, 2013; Faist, 2013; Kivisto, 2003; Levitt et al. 2003). Transnational activities have been seen as an alternative mode of integration as Faist (2013) argues integration and transnationalism should be seen as interrelated concepts. Research on the relationship between integration and transnationalism suggests different positions in describing the relation between transnationalism and integration. On the one hand, some studies show that strong transnational ties cause weak integration, more specifically the necessity of investing time and resources for integration might limit willingness to adapt to the receiving society. This might construct strong loyalty to the sending country, might be relying on transnational links to survive and to overcome discrimination in the receiving society impede the process of integration (Basch, Glick Schiller & Blanch - Szanton, 1994; Faist, 2000; Kivisto, 2001). On the other hand, some studies indicate that integration and transnationalism are mutually supportive. For instance, economic integration is an essential driver for transnational economic activities (remittances, investment) and visits to the sending country are seen as having a positive effect on integration (Hammond, 2013; Levitt et al., 2003; Portes, Guarnizo & Haller, 2002; Vertovec, 2009). In those studies, presented above, integration is state-assisted and is seen as a multi-dimensional two-way process. However, in the case of African migrants in Turkey, the government has not introduced any integration policy and Africans experience high levels of institutional and societal discrimination which conflicts with the definition of integration as a two-way process. Consequently, they do not have access to rights and resources that are essential to integrate with the receiving society. Therefore, they might create an environment themselves for adaptation by using transnational social spaces as a survival strategy. The notion of transnational social space has been developed by Faist (2000), Lewellen (2002) and Pries (2001), and has been central to the analysis of transnational relationships and communities (Howard, 2011). Generally, social networks which span national borders can be seen as a form of transnational social space and these social networks are constructed not only with people from the country of origin, but also potentially by everybody in the so-called global era. The space which spans beyond borders by migratory practices and social networks in the era of globalization is conceptualized as a transnational social space in which new kinds of social networks link at least two distant geographical spaces. Lewellen defines transnational social space in terms of social networks: 'these networks usually follow economic linkages, lines of capital that unite the group within an interweaving of trade, finance and remittances' (2002: 8). While Lewellen focuses on the economic linkages of social networks, Faist has a broader definition for transnational social space, defined as 'combinations of social and symbolic ties, positions in networks and organisations that can be found in at least two geographically and internationally distinct places' (Faist, 1999, p. 216). In his definition, the idea of transnational social space represents a constant movement of not only people but also goods, thoughts and information in two or more nation-states which brings them into a single social space. Transnational social space includes 'the circulation of ideas, symbols, and material culture'(Faist, 2000, p. 13). From this perspective, migrants can mobilize and maximize their facilities beyond national borders by merging different locales into a single social space. In this paper, I focus on transnational social spaces of African migrants in Istanbul and show whether these spaces speed up the process of integration. Since the late 1990s Turkey has become a country of transit and settlement for many African migrants. Although many African migrants have a goal of migrating to Europe, most of them end up living in Turkey for many years. The immigration status of Africans also varies. Their migration status includes asylum seekers, short-term visa holders - business or student visas - and undocumented migrants whom legally entered the country but have not renewed their visas. While some African migrants have been living in Turkey for 6 months, others have been living in Turkey for 10 years or longer. The socio-cultural and economic spaces they have created in Turkey help to keep their ties with their countries of origin. In this study, drawing on in-depth interviews with 40 African migrants in Istanbul the impact of transnational socio-cultural spaces on their integration processes is explained and it is argued that transnational social spaces accelerate their integration processes. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]