Adrian BASARABĂ, Iris MIHAI TURKEY BETWEEN MIGRATIONS: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS OF THE PHENOMENON Adrian BASARABĂ, Iris MIHAI

Goal of the paper analysing the trends of the Turkish migration and identifying the policy areas which need to be addressed by the policy makers in Turkey as country of origin of the Turkish immigrants and as country of destination for foreigners. the interest given to immigrants’ integration both in Turkey and at EU level

Country profile Location: 97% Asia (Anatolian Peninsula), 3% Europe (Balkan Peninsula) Surface: 780.580 sqkm (36th) Population: 78.785.548 (17th) Ethnic structure: 75% Turks, 18% Kurds, 7% Greeks, Armenians, Arabs Net migration rate: 0.5 migrant/1000 population (63rd)

MIGRATION OF TURKEY OVER TIME Since the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, we have witnessed several movements of its population. They can be divided into 4 stages, all with specific characteristics: stage I (1923-1950) stage II (1950-1970) stage III (1970-1990) stage IV (after 1990)

Stage I (1923-1950) Two international migration movements: mass-leaving of the country by the minority non-Muslim population the return of the Turks from the territories lost by the Ottoman Empire before and during the first World War Ethnical structure of the population of Turkey during 1914-1945 (thousands) Year 1914 1927 1945 Muslims 12,941 13,290 18,511 Orthodox Greeks 1549 110 104 Armenians 1204 77 60 Jews 128 82 Others 176 71 38 Total 15,997 13,630 18,790 Percentage of non-Muslims 19,1 2,5 1,5

Stage II (1950-1970) series of international migrations, an exodus of Turkish citizens towards Western Europe countries first agreement was signed in 1961 with Germany, fact which provides us with an explanation why today Germany has the largest Turkish Diaspora community in the world (1.658.083 people in 2009). immediately after having signed the agreement with Germany, Turkey has signed one also with UK in 1964 there were signed agreements with Austria, Netherlands and Belgium in 1965 with France in 1967 with Sweden and Australia the end of this stage was brought by the oil crisis from 1973 which pressured Germany and other countries to terminate the agreements with Turkey and several other states; this resulted in closing the migrant workers program

Stage III (1970-1990) this period is characterized by an exodus of Turkish citizens towards the Arab countries two phases: the first one, migration towards Libya and Saudi Arabia during 1967-1981 the second one, migration towards Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, Jordan and Libya during 1981-1992 a series of immigrants from Iran arrive to Turkey due to the political changes caused by the Islamic Revolution during the ‘80s, part of the Turkish population found itself too, faced with the need to emigrate due to political conditions this period ended due to the crisis generated by the Gulf War from 1990-1991

Stage IV (after 1990) this stage begins after the end of the Cold War migration towards the former Soviet Union members in 5 years, towards the ISC, migrated a population double in size compared to the one that migrated towards the Arab countries in 20 years after 1995 studies reveal an increase in the migration towards more remote destinations, like Canada, USA, Australia

MIGRATION IN TURKEY TODAY Immigrants Turkey hosts 1.328.405 immigrants, approximately 2% of its population The immigrants group is balanced, 52.6% being women and 47.4% being men Turkey hosts approximately 13.000 refugees It is impossible to know the exact number of illegal immigrants from Turkey, but estimates show that it could be anywhere between 150.000 and 1.000.000 2005 2006 2007 Work 23,184 23,381 24,881 Education 22,650 25,803 28,455 Other reasons 122,284 150,011 171,872 Total 168,118 199,195 225,208

MIGRATION IN TURKEY TODAY Emigrants has today approximately 4.5 million emigrants the most popular destinations for Turkish migrants are Germany, France and Netherlands, these three hosting approximately 2.5 million Turkish emigrants, more than half of the total number of worldwide Turkish emigrants schooling level of those emigrating from Turkey is rather diverse, but the share of those with higher qualification is larger than that of those without qualification

Labour market integration POLICY AREAS Labour market integration achieving a good standard of living has become conditioned by possessing money immigrants to become self-reliant the third priority of Europe 2020 Strategy is ‘inclusive growth – fostering a high employment economy delivering economic, social and territorial cohesion’ addressing labour shortages raising the overall employment level the need for regulating these aspects lies in the fact that the labour market for immigrants is best described by low wages, instability, economic abuse and marginalisation

POLICY AREAS Education two essential aspects: the educational level of the immigrants at their arrival in the country encouraging them and their children to continue their education in the host country most of the time immigrants enrol in the labour market occupying lower positions due to their schooling level workers with low levels of education are more vulnerable to changes in the labour market

POLICY AREAS Politics In order to make their voice heard, immigrants should participate actively in the civic life of the societies that host them and to be represented accordingly in politics The existence of a dialogue between immigrants and their hosting societies can ease their integration, helping them to enjoy full rights and to explore their full potential leading to mutual benefits for both sides

POLICY AREAS The decision makers should also consider: social protection citizenship cultural diversity and many others These all can contribute to reducing illegal immigration.

Conclusions Turkey displays a positive evolution the difference between the large number of emigrants and the small number of immigrants has decreased significantly its attractiveness at international level has increased at the moment Turkish represent the largest community of immigrants in Europe

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