WP2 Turkey: Country Report - İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi | AB Enstitüsü

Social Impact of Emigration and Rural-Urban Migration in Central and Eastern Europe
VT/2010/001
IDPs in Turkey cannot fully enjoy their right to education, partly because of the elements of
the Turkish domestic law impeding full exercise of the right. Turkey’s interpretation of nondiscrimination
leaves internally-displaced children at risk. Turkey’s minority and antidiscrimination
laws date back to the Treaty of Lausanne signed in 1923, defining minorities
as “Turkish nationals belonging to non-Muslim minorities”. Turkey has consistently
interpreted this protection as applying to only three minority groups: Armenians, Greeks, and
Jews. Apparently, this law falls short in including the Kurds who make up the vast majority of
the internally displaced population.
The most apparent problems IDPs are facing are poverty and unemployment. Lack of
education, which contributes to rising unemployment, is another major issue. A 2009 report
found that more than 30% of the children of Kurdish IDPs living in Diyarbakir and Istanbul,
and 77.8% of those living in Batman do not attend school, mainly due to the consequences
of poverty (Briefing Paper, September 2010). Women and children, who make up the
majority of IDPs in Turkey, often face additional obstacles in accessing education and other
social services and are at increased risk for abuse. Women undertake most of the unpaid
work involved in holding a community together, such as bearing and raising children, caring
for the sick and elderly, fetching water, growing and preparing food and caring for livestock
(Irvin, 2011).
All these are adversely affected by displacement, as women become isolated and are
vulnerable to violence. These groups become more exposed to vulnerability in the urban
space as they are more inclined to be imprisoned at home. Especially, women and children
become more fragile and subject to domestic violence due to the patriarchal structure of
these families. Their limited access to health, education and public services make them even
more vulnerable than the men are. Children become street children, being subject to
maltreatment, harassment, violence, drug addiction and abuse (Kaya et al., 2009; and
Yükseker and Kurban, 2009). Young females starting from the age of nine are also exposed
to similar treatment in the confectionery workshops where they are illegally employed without
proper working conditions and social security (Kaya et al., 2009).
Scientific studies also reveal that most of the seasonal workers working in the agricultural
fields are women and children originating from the southeastern and eastern Anatolia
(Özbekmezci and Sahil, 2004). The total population of the Seasonal Migrant Workers in
Turkey is estimated around 1 million. In Turkey, about 9% of the population are children
under 9. However, this is very different for Southeast Anatolia, where almost all migrant
workers come from. According to UNICEF figures (State of the Children in Turkey, 2011 -
UNICEF website) the percentage of 0-9 children is about 14%. Therefore, we can estimate
that there must be around 125,000 seasonal migrant worker children who are 8 and under
(Bernard Van Leer Foundation, 2011). Typically poor and with low levels of education,
seasonal migrants are one of the most disadvantaged groups in Turkey. They are not
protected by labour laws and are often not paid a living wage. There are, however,
opportunities to intervene. The European Union and the Office of the Turkish Prime Minister
have both recently drawn attention to their needs. They also have similar problems like the
IDP women and children in terms of having very limited access to education, health and
public services.
According to the estimates made by UNICEF Turkey there are around more than 50.000
homeless and street children in Turkey, most of whom reside in Istanbul
(http://www.unicef.org.tr). Those children who have no parents or guardians and thus live in
the streets or parks are categorized as homeless children, whereas those who have
guardian or parents but are forced to work or beg in the streets to contribute to family budget
are categorised as street children. However, we believe that this number is far from reflecting
the reality. One could see the high number of suck children in the streets of Diyarbakır, Van,
and Mersin who are exposed to the internal displacement (Kaya et al., 2009). While the
number of homeless and street children is increasing, little is known concerning how these
youth are handled by criminal justice and social welfare agencies.
Final Country Report Turkey 20