Economic Activities of Migrants in Transnational Social Spaces

Abstract

For viewers of the Turkish government channel TRT Avraysa on German cable television, it is obvious that some Turkish immigrants’ children in Germany have embarked on successful music careers in both Turkey and Germany. For example, during the summer of 1995, the German-based Turkish rap group ‘Cartel’ (now disbanded) replaced Michael Jackson as number one in the Turkish charts. Also, the nightly news on German TV usually features reports on the widely known Kurdish political-military organization — the Partiya Karkarên Kurdistan (PKK, Kurdistan Workers’ Party). The PKK not only operates in Turkey but also tries to influence German politicians to exert pressure on its Turkish counterpart. Moreover, TV programmes for Turkey are often produced in Germany and vice versa. For example, the state television TRT produces about a quarter of its shows for viewers of TRT Avrasya in Germany. Another example of transnational linkages developing in the course of international migration is the growing presence of Islamist groups. Being denied a formal status in Turkey in the 1970s and 1980s, these organizations grew and flourished in Germany. Also, it has been obvious that Turkish migrants’ remittances, though declining, have been complemented by a flow of goods and information in the other direction. In addition, capital flows are gradually replacing remittances. For example, some Turkish migrants’ children have been investing in textile production in Turkey and marketing the products in Germany. Similar observations can be made for many of the origins and destinations of labour migrant and refugee flows in the contemporary world (see, for example, Pessar, 1997).