12,000 ARMENIAN CITIZENS WORKING ILLEGALLY IN TURKEY, MAJORITY ARE WOMEN

Tert.am
10:32, 07.12.09

There are between 12,000 and 13,000 Armenian citizens working
illegally in Turkey, according to the results of a study by the
Eurasia Partnership Foundation, which will be made available to the
public next month.

According to the study, 94% of the Armenians working in Turkey are
women, with very few Armenian men accompanying their spouses to
Turkey or working here. Armenian women tend to work as childcare and
homecare providers, and cleaning and sales staff. Most of the Armenian
men who accompany their wives here choose not to work at all, while
those who do tend to work in the jewelry business.

Head researcher Alin Ozinian, an Istanbul native of Armenian descent,
worked for two years on the project, which culminated in a 150-page
report to be released in Istanbul next month.

The report makes important claims as to the number of Armenians living
in Turkey. According to official numbers, 6,000 Armenians did not
return home after traveling to Turkey between 2000 and 2008. Ozinian
adds figures from the 1990s to this number and says the number of
Armenians illegally living in Turkey is not 70,000-100,000 as has
previously been asserted, but is actually closer to 12,000-13,000.

An interesting finding of the study is that those migrating from
Armenia prefer to work and live with Turks in Istanbul, as opposed
to Armenians who are natives of the city. Immigrant Armenians say
the "moral values" of Turks and Armenians are very close. Amongst
the survey questions asked as part of the study was, "Is there a
difference between the idea of a Turk you had in your head before
coming here and the ideas you have now?" Most of the answers expressed
a fear of Turks before coming, and after living and working with them,
a more positive impression is formed.

Armenian immigrant children often do not continue their education
after coming to Turkey, and children born in the country have no
official birth certificates. As there is no Armenian consulate or
embassy in Turkey, they are children without identities or nationality.