Life Science

Turkish Migration Conference 2015 was held at Charles University Prague from 25 to 27 June 2015 and attended by over 200 academics presenting research on Turkish migration, migration in, to, through and from Turkey. The conference was chaired by Ibrahim Sirkeci, and co-chaired by Philip Martin, Jeffrey Cohen, Wadim Strielkowski and Inna Cabelkova.

Traditional source countries have been rapidly becoming destination countries. However, the fact remains that there are still countries with surplus populations and others who do not want any more migration. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, there were large population movements between Anatolia and neighbouring territories including the compulsory population exchanges between the newly formed Turkish Republic and Greece between 1923 and 1926. While the majority of non-Muslim minorities left Turkey, Muslim Turks moved in the opposite direction from the countries gaining independence after the collapse of the Empire. However what has put Turkey firmly on the international migration map are the mass labour migrations of the 1960s and 1970s. Following the energy crisis of the early 1970s, Turkish emigration found new destinations in Arab countries, Australia, and the former Soviet Republics in addition to the already established culture and routes of migration. Initial flows have been replaced by family migrations, refugee flows, asylum seeking migrants, and in more recent times the arrival of undocumented migrants in large numbers. Given this, we can identify five distinct periods in recent Turkish migration history: 1) the migration of mainly unskilled and skilled workers  dominating  the initial period from 1961 to 1973; 2) migrations due to family reunions  dominating the second period until 1980; 3) Following the military intervention of 1980, Turkish or Kurdish refugees seeking asylum in Europe, along with flows of contract workers to Arab countries in the 1970s and 1980s; 4)  flows of undocumented persons to Western Europe during the late 1990s and 2000s; 5) the boom in  migration to Turkey with Turkey turning  into an immigrant receiving country  in the 2000s and 2010s.

Until  recently,  migration  studies  addressed  women  in  such  a  frame whereby they embraced the decisions of men and outcomes of these decisions.  The  transformation  in  international  migration  movements  and  the  soaring number  of  women  migrants  require  a  new  gender-oriented  approach  to migration  research.  The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  reveal  the  gender-related victimization  of  women  with  an  experience  of  migration,  and  to  discuss  the need for delegating women to a privileged position in migration research.

The new Turkish legislation (Law no.6458) regarding immigration and immigrants in Turkey was approved in the parliament in April 2013 and published in 4th of April.
Turkey has been an immigration destination for an increasing number of people in the last decade or so. Therefore the need for a new com-prehensive legislation was obvious. Following a relatively lengthy period of consultations, the new law came into force. In this study, we particularly focus on the implications of this new law for the protection of individuals from a human insecurity perspective and the deportation of apprehended immigrants and refused asylum seekers. A unified system proposed by the new law along with the newly created General Directorate of Migration is a step in the right direction. Thus, a harmonised effort in line with international human rights standards regarding the deportation issue can be expected. The deportation is restructured by the new law. The new law is drawing upon -often best- practices around the world and not solely based on the practice and experience in Turkey. Hence, the overall attitude is positive and human-itarian. This is evident in various aspects of the law. The new legislation supports the individuals who are accommodated in deportation centres by offering free legal aid to those in need as such is available for Turkish citizens. The detention peri-ods for the deportees are vaguely defined in many European countries. However the new law in Turkey clearly sets this period as up to 6 months. These clearer procedures are in line with interna-tional law. Similarly, in the new law, also a rather decentralised governance is proposed which is again very positive for addressing needs and wants of immigrants/deportees in different re-gions of the country without resorting to lengthy and cumbersome bureaucratic procedures.