Abstract
The chapter analyses attitudes towards othering, as well as the countering practices used to resist othering among young Kurdish migrants in Istanbul—‘the biggest Kurdish city in the world’. Following the works of Nira Yuval-Davis and Cenk Saraçoğlu and relying on in-depth interviews with migrants and representatives of Kurdish institutions in the city, the author examines various ways of social negotiation of identity, which take complex and varied forms encompassing both engagement in cultural education and everyday practices. The author argues that many Kurds migrating to Istanbul in the twenty-first century were not so much insecurity driven as aiming to achieve unique educational and economic possibilities by changing their location. Consequently, they may constitute the Kurdish intellectual and economic elite of the future.
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Notes
- 1.
While the main arguments regarding countering othering among Kurdish migrants are based on my research and supported by quotes from the respondents, they complement other research on topics such as youth, migration, Kurdish culture , and identity in Turkey (i.e. Grabolle-Çeliker 2010; Mutluer 2012; Göral 2016; Saraçoğlu 2010; Flader 2014; Neyzi 2001; Darıcı and Neyzi 2014).
- 2.
See more on the role of Kurdish cultural institutions in Chap. 3 by Renata Kurpiewska-Korbut.
- 3.
This intense activity of Kurdish civil society is visible in a work of Nurcan Baysal and Şeyhmus Diken (2015), where they are presented in interviews with many organisations in Bakur , which were founded by diverse groups ranging from far leftist to very conservative religious circles. These organisations set varied goals for themselves also (both particular and more general, more political and more cultural).
- 4.
Turkish: Yurtsever Devrimci Gençlik Hareket , Kurdish: Tevgera Ciwanên Welatparêz Yên Şoreşger (Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement). A radical leftist organisation sympathising and having loose connections with the PKK.
- 5.
Circassians are an ethnic group native to the north-western Caucasian region Circassia (located in the North of Georgia and Abkhazia). Many of Circassians migrated to Turkey as a result of the Russian invasion of the Caucasus in the nineteenth century (which in 1864 led to the Russian-Circassian War).
- 6.
The quotes from respondents are presented in a manner that shows the number of the respondent, his or her age and home region. Additional information regarding quoted respondents is usually provided before the quote.
- 7.
While the expressive equipment (using Erving Goffman’s term) or communication techniques of Kurds during the protests or public posts on social media are highly influenced by language of leftist political thought (mainly HDP and youth organisations supporting it), interactions with fellow Turks who express different views on Kurds prompt different codes of expressing Kurdish identity and invoke attempts at translating and explaining the respondent’s views on the matter. Similar situations stimulating more individual narrations on Kurdish cultural and political heritage can occur in more private and homely surroundings (e.g. in a discussion with friends in a café). For analysis of ways of using social media by Kurds in Turkey, see Costa (2016).
- 8.
Apart from negative attitudes towards the state, many respondents emphasised that they did not feel a sense of belonging to it because of its atrocities against the Kurds and because of the continuous second-class treatment of this group. Some respondents, however, admitted that when Turkish nationalists defined Kurds as alien to the country and treated Kurdish migrants as invaders they were wrong, as many Kurds (including the ancestors of some respondents) fought in the war for Turkish independence and by law should be treated equally.
- 9.
The topic of difficulties in mutual understanding between youths from different regions in Turkey (and most notably Turks and Kurds) was explored in the findings of the oral history project Gençler Anlatıyor (Young People Speak Out) led by Leyla Neyzi (Darıcı and Neyzi 2014).
- 10.
Only one respondent mentioned the animosity of other ethnic minorities towards the Kurds. He described the Laz living in Beykoz as ‘hating Kurds’ (R38, 26 years old, from Diyarbekir), however some other participants stated that many Laz come to Kurdish cafés and support them. There is also a Laz café in Istanbul, which is the frequent meeting place of leftist Kurds. Attitudes of other minorities to Kurds vary, as many minorities coming in earlier migrations from the Balkans and Caucasus, described by the term mühacir (i.e. Macedonians, Circassians and Chechens) were engaged in Turkish nationalism, and even participated in ruling the country in the 1990s (van Bruinessen 1997, 6–7).
- 11.
- 12.
The area informally referred to as the Tarlabaşı neighbourhood actually consists of six official neighbourhoods: Kalyoncu Kulluğu, Çukur, Bülbül, Bostan, Kamer Hatun and Şehit Muhtar (Yilmaz 2006, 209–210).
- 13.
Although the cafés are publicly known in Istanbul, I do not cite them here by name, in order to maintain their confidentiality, for instance, if someone wanted to use the results of this study against their owners and customers.
- 14.
Apart from symbols connected to Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, Yezidism and characters included in Shahnameh, Kurdish organisations and cafés may also refer to the myth of Shahmaran, a ‘serpent queen’ who is often depicted with a human head and snake features below the waist. This myth is common in central and southern parts of Turkey but also in Iran and Iraq (Nicolaus 2011).
- 15.
The letters ‘w’, ‘q’ and ‘x’ were banned until 2013 (Geerdink 2014). Their usage still sparks controversy and may result in charges of separatism.
- 16.
The Laz people are a South Caucasian ethnic group native to the regions of Georgia and Turkey located on the coast of the Black Sea. Their language belongs to the Kartvelian group of languages (which also includes Georgian ). While the Laz are sometimes described as a sub-division of Georgian ethnic group, majority of them reside in Turkey (Bellér-Hann and Hann 2001).
- 17.
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Work on this chapter was supported by the Polish National Science Centre, grant DEC-2013/09/N/HS3/02014.
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Kaczorowski, K. (2018). Countering Othering: Social Negotiations of Identity Among New Kurdish Migrants in Istanbul. In: Bocheńska, J. (eds) Rediscovering Kurdistan’s Cultures and Identities. Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93088-6_4
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