ILLEGAL ARMENIAN IMMIGRANTS UNEASY IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS TENSIONS RISE

Today’s Zaman
Feb 17 2010
Turkey

Alin Ozinian on Monday presented the results of research titled "State
of Armenian Irregular Migrants in Turkey" at the Istanbul-based
Kultur University’s Global Political Trends Center, in which she
concluded that illegal Armenian immigrants worry about fluctuations
in Turkish-Armenian relations because any turn for the worse thrusts
them into an unwanted spotlight.

Ozinian’s research was conducted in Istanbul, Antalya, Trabzon and
Ankara through focus groups and in-depth interviews as part of the
Eurasia Partnership Foundation’s Identifying the State of Armenian
Migrants in Turkey project.

Ozinian, a Turkish-Armenian herself, said that in addition to numerous
problems faced by illegal Armenian immigrants who came to Turkey to
work, they are adversely affected by being put under the spotlight
whenever tensions rise in Armenian-Turkish relations.

"Although there are many illegal workers in Turkey from various
countries, only those who come from Armenia have come to the agenda
of politicians," Ozinian said, adding that whenever political tension
escalates between Armenia and Turkey, Turkish politicians bring up
the topic of illegal Armenian workers and hint that despite strained
relations, the Turkish side tolerates the illegal workers and does
not deport them. "The politicians and media usually focus on the
number of illegal workers, but there should also be a humanitarian
aspect to the issue," Ozinian added.

The exact number of Armenian immigrants in Turkey is unknown, but
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in January 2009 that the
number is around 50,000. Other politicians have suggested different
figures, with some reaching as high as 70,000.

Explaining the purpose of the research, Ozinian said it aims to
provide a better picture of the Armenian workers and detail the
problems they face. The researcher highlighted that illegal Armenian
workers have encountered various problems since 1991, when they first
started coming to Turkey in search of work.

According to the research, the wages of illegal Armenians working
in Turkey varied between $550 and $1,000 per month. Furthermore,
96 percent of the workers are women. The results also show that many
Armenian immigrant men do not work but come to Turkey to stay with
their wives and to keep them safe. The research also indicates that a
large number of the migrants live in Ä°stanbul and work in the Laleli
and Osmanbey neighborhoods because they can easily communicate with
Russian-speaking customers, who come to stores in the area to purchase
leather goods for resale in Russia.

The researcher says that although the illegal immigrants are
generally employed by members of the Turkish-Armenian community,
various problems exist between the two groups, largely stemming from
cultural and social differences.

"Nevertheless, they choose to work for Turkish-Armenians because they
fear Turks will report them to the police should any problems arise,"
she said.

Ozinian also highlighted that most of the illegal workers try to avoid
discussing Armenian claims that Ottoman Turkey orchestrated a campaign
of genocide against its Armenian population during World War I and that
many of them do not disclose their nationality if they are not asked.

"They generally plan on returning to Armenia. Only a few want to go
to Europe after coming to Turkey, but no one plans to stay in Turkey,"
Ozinian said and noted that after the assassination of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink in 2007, the illegal immigrants have increasingly
been concerned about their safety. A Turkish ultranationalist is
currently standing trial for the murder.

When asked whether the number of illegal Armenian workers coming to
Turkey will increase if ties between Turkey and Armenia are normalized,
Ozinian said she does not expect a drastic increase in the numbers and
added that the conditions of Armenians already in Turkey may improve.

Speaking about the motives driving Armenian immigrants to come to
Turkey, she said that despite the political hostility between the two
countries, Turkey is still economically attractive when compared to
Armenia, which has a badly functioning economy and whose borders are
closed with both Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Ozinian also touched upon the situation of the children of these
immigrants, saying that since the children are neither Armenian nor
Turkish citizens, they cannot be enrolled in private or state-owned
schools. "The families and their children come together in Kumkapı,
where the Armenian Church is located. Some of the older girls from
the Turkish-Armenian community lead courses teaching these children
how to read and write," she said.