Contested Constructions of the Migrant “Home”: Gender, Class and Belonging in the Anatolian-German Community

Abstract

For migrants, homemaking practices are deeply interwoven with the desire to (re-) produce a sense of belonging, of “a home away from home” (Brah 1996). Rituals of domesticity nurture a feeling of continuity and grounding that helps migrants cope with the personal and collective challenges experienced in the process of settlement.

I use the term Anatolian-German to refer to people who live in Germany, yet have roots in Turkey through their personal or familial migration biography. I prefer to use the term “Anatolian” to reflect the rich ethnic diversity of people from Turkey. I am aware that the term is not without its own pitfalls, yet I consider it preferable to the hegemonic ethnic marker “Turkish.” The hyphenated identity is a form of political empowerment. As Radhakrishnan puts it: “diasporic locationis the space of the hyphen that tries to coordinate, within an evolving relationship, the identity politics of one’s place of origin with one’s present home” (Radhakrishnan 1996: xiii). The Anatolian-German community is the largest ethnic minority in Germany, accounting for roughly 1.9 million persons (or 25.6 percent of non-nationals) in 2003 (Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Migration; Flüchtlinge und Integration 2005: 562). Another 500,000 Anatolian-Germans are estimated to be German citizens.