Turkey

Emirdag, in the region of Afyon, has a surface area of 2,213 km² and consists of 70 villages, 5 towns and 25"EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">. The economy of Emirdag is mostly based on agriculture and livestock. There are two factories in the sub-province; one is a flour factory and the other, a synthetic manufacturing factory. In Emirdag, there is one state hospital and ten health clinics. There are 28 primary education institutions and 16 high schools. Socio-economically, Emirdag is the 390^th sub-province among the 872 sub-provinces in Turkey.In the six levels of development, the first class being for the most developed sub-provinces, Emirdag is included in the third class.The urbanization rate of Emirdag in 2004 is 43.27 and it is the 409^th among the 872 sub-provinces in the level of urbanization. The unemployment rate in the same year is 4.15 percent (SPO, 2004). In the local elections of 2009, the political party which won most of the votes (28 percent) was the AKP and following this political party (26 percent), was the MHP.

The population of Emirdag today is approximately 42,000 people and the population growth rate in 2009 was - 19.8 per thousand. The population in the towns and villages is higher than the population in its center which is mainly urban. The population density is 19.36 per km². According to the latest statistics of 1990, out of the 11,108 households in Emirdag at the time, 1,550 households had at least one family member living abroad and the number of the people living abroad was 4,851; making the international emigration rate 11 percent in the center of the sub-province and 15.7 percent in the villages and towns.

The total population of the age group of 15-39 in Emirdag is 16,343 in 2009. The number of illiterate women in the age group of 18- 39, is more than four times the number of illiterate men in the same age group in Emirdag in 2009 (Table 22). The number of married women in Emirdag is lower than the married men and the number of the divorced women is higher than men in 2009 (Table 23).There are many Alewites scattered in many of the villages of Emirdag; however their number is not known as there is no available statistics on the religion or ethnicity in the country.

Emirdag in Afyon is well known for its high emigration rates since the year 1963 when the first wave of laborers emigrated to Belgium. Although the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and Denmark have also received tens of thousands of immigrants from Emirdag since the 1960s, the most popular destination has always been Belgium. Even after Belgium stopped accepting workers from Turkey in 1974, the migration to Belgium continued either by family reunification or by arrangement of tourist visas for relatives. Some, with an intention of migration, entered Belgium with a tourist visa and then overstayed or managed to acquire residence permit. Many emigrants have married their own relatives planning to get a divorce after the relative is able to receive residence permit. Another way of emigration is rooted in the fact that Turkish families in Europe prefer Turkish brides or grooms. As a result, many people in Emirdag divorce from their spouses hoping to get married with an emigrant on holiday in Emirdag. There are also those who make mutual agreements with European citizens who accept to get married with them in return of money.

Many of the emigrants who live in Europe return to Emirdag in summer to spend their yearly holidays. The elderly, who have retired from their jobs in Europe, stay half of the year in Europe in order to continue getting social benefits from the country of immigration. With the emigrants returning in the months of July and August, the population of Emirdag increases from approximately 40,000 people to more than 120,000 people. Due to the way the emigrants advertise Europe and prove their richness by building villas in Emirdag or traveling with luxurious cars (which are sometimes hired), they have created an imaginary, rich Europe where money is easily earned. On the other hand, staying in or returning to Emirdag from Europe is interpreted as defeat and loss. Even in the times of economical crisis in Europe, there were only a handful of people willing to return to Emirdag to live.

Until the recession period in Europe starting from the year 2000, the number of emigrants returning for holidays was higher. However, due to the recession and the weakening of the third generation’s ties with Emirdag, the number of returnees in summers is in a decreasing trend.Some people, even if they come to Turkey for summer holidays, prefer the Mediterranean coast rather than spending their time in Emirdag. Until the recession in Europe, there was a trend of building luxurious villas in Emirdag which created a job market; however, that has disappeared in the last ten years.

The people of Emirdag who live abroad retain strong connections with their hometown. A social organization that is founded by the people who are from Emirdag and who live in Europe is named EYAD, The Organization of Cooperation for people from Emirdag, and is located in Belgium. With a wide range of activities including successful campaigns to help the people with low income, to provide wheelchairs for the disabled people or to build libraries for schools in Emirdag. The social network among the people from Emirdag in Europe and in Turkey is very strong as they have a number of websites as tools of news and communication and regular magazines in which they give news from Europe.

Dinar, also in the region of Afyon, is a sub-province with surface area of 1,234 km² and is made up of 55 villages and 8 towns. The economy of Dinar is based on agriculture, livestock and trade. There are 21 factories including factories of textile, tin can, sack, flour, fish net, jeans and farm implement factories. In Dinar, there are two state hospitals and twelve health clinics. There are 14 primary education institutions and 14 high schools. Socio-economically, Dinar is the 369th sub-province among the 872 sub-provinces in Turkey.In the six levels of development, the first class being for the most developed sub-provinces, Dinar is included in the third class.The urbanization rate of Dinar in 2004 is 40.12 and it was the 469th among 872 sub-provinces in the level of urbanization.  The unemployment rate in the same year is 6.61 percent. In the local elections of 2009, the political party which won most of the votes (51 percent) was the MHP, and following this political party (30 percent) was the AKP.

Dinar’s population today, approximately 50,000 people, is slightly higher in the center which is mainly urban, compared to the population in the towns and villages. The annual growth rate of population is 1.5 per thousand. The population density is 40.2 per km². According to the statistics of 1990, out of the 14,494 households in Dinar, 375 households had at least one family member living abroad and the number of people living abroad was 831; making the international emigration rate 2.6 percent both in the center and the villages. In the total population of approximately 50,000 people in Dinar, the total of the age group of 15-39 is 18,043 people. The number of illiterate women in the age group of 18-39, is almost three times the number of illiterate men in the same age group in Dinar in 2009. The numbers for both the married and the divorced women are higher than the men in Dinar in the year 2009.

The most crucial population movement in Dinar took place after the devastating earthquake in the year 1995. Due to the destruction of the province and the harsh winter conditions, people had to migrate to the nearby cities. After the houses were re-built by the government in the following years, many families started returning to their homes. The people who chose not to return to Dinar were mostly the residents of the centre. This led to a new movement. As the centre of Dinar was now emptier, people from the villages and the towns of Dinar slowly started moving to the centre. Some started spending the winters in the centre working and returning to their villages in the summer or working in the centre during the day and returning to their house in the village after work. Dinar has recently become also a destination for the retired state employees who served in Dinar at a period in their lives and then chose to live in Dinar after their retirement.

Even before the earthquake in 1995, there has always been internal migration to neighbouring cities from Dinar by individuals in search of employment. During the economic crisis of 2001, many individuals who had migrated to neighbouring cities such as Denizli, Isparta and Antalya started returning to Dinar because they either lost jobs or were able to earn only very low wages, insufficient to live in those cities. As they had their families in Dinar, returning to Dinar was more practical as the life is comparatively cheaper. Today, there is still seasonal migration to Antalya on the Mediterranean coast where the young is able to find summer jobs.

In the history of Dinar, there was one significant wave of emigration. In 1971, there was a destructive flood which destroyed houses, lands and animals. As European countries at the time were asking for labourers from Turkey, many people who lost their properties in the flood travelled to work in Germany, France and Belgium as workers. The emigration in 1971 did not cause a chain movement. The emigrants did not sell their houses and lands as they aimed to return and for this reason, have made many new investments in Dinar. Today, no significant return is observed, except the elderly who retire from jobs in Europe and spend half the year in Europe in order to continue getting the benefits. Although the high numbers of emigration stopped at the end of the 1970s, today there are still people that emigrate by family reunification. Nevertheless, Dinar is the sub-province with one of the least numbers of immigrants in Europe when compared to other sub-provinces in Afyon.

The people of Dinar who live abroad have not ended their connections with their hometown. As the town of Haydarli in Dinar had many who immigrated to Germany, in the year 2004 they founded a nongovernmental organization named Haydarlilar Yardimlasma Dernegi (Association of Solidarity for people of Haydarli); which has donation campaigns for the vulnerable people in Dinar. The network between Dinar’s residents and the people of Dinar in Europe is not very visible on any kind of media.

Fatih, located in Istanbul, has surface area of 15.6 km² and is made up of 57 neighbourhoods. Fatih constitutes the old quarter of the province and therefore tourism plays an essential role in its economy (Fatih Municipality). In Fatih, there are eleven hospitals and thirteen health clinics. There are 44 primary education institutions and 34 high schools. The sub-province of Fatih was not included in the socio-economic ranking of the State Planning Organization that was done in 2003 among 872 sub-provinces in Turkey. The reason for this was the exclusion of the sub-provinces that were under the Metropolitan Municipality because they were too developed compared to the rest of the sub-provinces and would cause errors in the comparison. As a part of the Metropolitan city, the urbanization rate of Fatih is 100 percent. The unemployment rate, however, is unknown. In the local elections of 2009, the political party which won most of the votes (43 percent) was the AKP and following this political party, was CHP (29.4 percent).

The population of the sub-province of Fatih is 433,796 people, consisting of 215,326 males and 218.47 females. The annual growth rate of population is -23.1 per thousand. The population density is 27,807 per km². The total number of the age group of 15-39 in 2009 is 187,150. In the year 2009, the sub-province of Eminönü was added to the sub-province of Fatih. According to the statistics of 1990, out of the 82,268 households in Eminönü at the time, 1,886 households had at least one family member living abroad and the number of the people living abroad was 3,113; making the international emigration rate 2.3 percent. The sub-province of Fatih at the time had a total of 134,467 households with 4,509 households with at least one family member abroad and 7,236 people living abroad; making the international emigration rate 3.4 percent. The number of illiterate women in the age group of 18- 39, is close to three times the number of illiterate men in the same age group in Fatih in 2009. Despite the fact that the number of married women in Fatih is lower than the married men, the number of the divorced women is higher than divorced men in 2009.

Fatih has been an internal and international migrant receiving sub-province since Istanbul was conquered by the Ottoman Empire under the rule of Fatih the Conqueror. Many neighborhoods are known to be populated with people from a certain origin. The people migrating from Roumeli (the part of the Ottoman Empire that remained in the continent of Europe) such as the migrants from Albania were traditionally settled in this area, in the neighborhood named Silivrikapi and the migrants from Bulgaria were resettled in Cibali. The Arabs migrating from the East were resettled in Tahtakale. Armenians who were part of the long established residents of the region, though their numbers have decreased dramatically in time, have lived in Langa and Kumkapi. Migrants from many cities in Turkey were resettled in various neighborhoods. The ones from Bursa, a province in Marmara Region, were resettled in Yenikapi and Eyüp, those from Konya, a province in Central Anatolia, were resettled in Aksaray. Today, when the migrants are ranked according to their numbers, the migrants from Kastamonu, a province in the Black Sea Region, have the largest number in Fatih.

Migrants of Turkic origin and the Muslim migrants from Balkans and Caucasians are scattered in various neighborhoods of Fatih. This sub-province receives many legal and irregular migrants and refugees who live in Laleli, Kadirga and Aksaray neighborhoods. Many irregular migrants from Somalia, Congo, Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, Nigeria , Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Iraq and Azerbaijan live in the decaying housing areas in the neighborhoods in Eyüp, especially in the neighborhood of Nisanca. Laleli and Yenikapi are well known for receiving many migrants from Russia, Ukraine and Moldova who are mostly involved in suitcase trade.

Van Central Sub-province (Van Merkez), located in the province of Van, has surface area of 2,289 km² and is made up of2 towns, 92 villages and 23 ‘mezra’s’ (a few houses built close to each other). The economy of Van Merkez is based on industry, agriculture and livestock. Van Merkez has 62 factories active in various sectors ranging from cement to food production. In Van Merkez, there are nine hospitals and thirteen clinics. In Van Merkez, there are 89 primary education institutions and 90 high schools.

The State Planning Organization under the Turkish Prime Ministry has declared in its most recent socio-economic ranking in 2003 that Van Merkez was the 149th sub-province among the 872 sub-provinces in Turkey. In the six levels of development, the first class being for the most developed sub-provinces, Van Merkez was included in the second class. The urbanization rate of Van Merkez in 2004 was 79.79 and it was the 37th among 872 sub-provinces in the level of urbanization.The unemployment rate in the same year was 21.39 percent. In the local elections of 2009, the political party which won most of the votes (54 percent) was a pro-Kurdish political party named DTP, closed by the Constitutional Court in 2009 due to assumed connections with the PKK, an armed separatist Kurdish group, and re-founded as BDP. Following this political party (39 percent), was AKP.

The population of Van Merkez today, approximately 450,000 people, is higher in the center which is mainly urban compared to the population in the towns and villages. The annual rate of population growth is 51.4 per thousand.  The population density is 197 per km². According to the statistics of 1990, out of the 28,689 households in Van Merkez at the time, 352 households had at least one family member living abroad and the number of the people living abroad was 539; making the international emigration rate 1.2 percent in the centre of the sub-province and 1.4 percent in the villages and towns.According to the update on May 2010, Van Merkez has 201,274 people aged between 15 and 39 in a total population of 451,333 people. According to the statistics of Turkish Statistical Institute, the number of illiterate women in the age group of 18 to 39, is more than four times the number of illiterate men in the same age group. Out of the 64,204 men in Van Merkez, 26,021 are married and 224 are divorced whereas both the marriage and divorce rates in women in the age group of 20-39 are close to double the numbers in men in 2009.

The issue of migration in Van should be viewed under a few headlines.  First of all, Van is a generator of internal migration since 1960s and also a station for internal migrants from the neighbouring cities planning to go to the more developed western cities of Turkey. At the same time, the province of Van, especially Van Merkez, receives internal migration, mainly from the cities in Eastern Turkey and due to its location on the Iranian border acting as an entrance point; it is the first stop and temporary residence for migrants from Asia and the Middle East; mainly for Iranians and Afghans aiming to apply for asylum in Turkey or aiming to reach European countries by other ways. There is also a movement from the towns and villages to Van Merkez due to the more desired living conditions in the centre. Finally, there have been Kurdish political activists who fled from Turkey to apply for asylum in Europe due to the human rights violations that Van’s population experienced in the recent years and which have been witnessed by the many human rights organizations settled in this province to observe the situation of the Kurdish.

Van has generated migrants to the rest of Turkey, to cities such as Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin, Bursa, Adana, Ankara and Antalya since the 1960s, however, this movement gained momentum in the 1980s. The first who left for the other cities were mostly from Van Merkez, who were better educated and living in better economic situations compared to the rest of the province. The reason they left was the starting of the armed clashes between the autonomy seeking Kurdish militants named PKK and the Turkish army. There has never been a significant wave of return to the province by this first wave, nor have they had any effect on the development or the economy of the province. After this first wave, more people started migrating to other cities for better and safer living conditions as Van was being damaged highly by the clashes between the Turkish Government and the PKK. Although the armed clashes between the PKK and the state has decreased since the year 2000, still there is high migration from Van to other cities. Out of more than the 27,000 people who left Van in the year 2009, approximately 10,000 people went to Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya. Van Merkez, in return, faced migration from the towns and the villages of Van who came here for safer living conditions. Also witnessed was the movement of some of these migrants to other cities by using Van Merkez as a station. In addition to the migration from inside of Van to Van Merkez, especially between the years 1985-1995, Van received high numbers of migrants from other cities in the east such as Mus, Agri, Hakkari, Sirnak. Due to the evacuation of many villages in those cities by the Turkish army against the PKK, waves of internally displaced people, especially of Kurdish origin, moved to Van Merkez.

Lastly, due to its geographical location and as a satellite city, there are 1,025 asylum seekers and 1,019 refugees who entered Turkey through the Iranian border to apply for asylum in Turkey. Approximately seventy percent of this population are Afghans whose stay in Iran is illegal and almost all of the rest is Iranians. The population of the province of Van and Van Merkez is mostly Kurdish; however, as the Turkish State does not collect information on the ethnicity of its people, there is no certain ethnicity information. Still, it is known that in the migration wave to other cities starting from the 1980s, it was mostly the Turkish population that left and the population migrating to Van from eastern cities such as Mus, Agri, Hakkari, Sirnak was mostly of Kurdish origin. These movements naturally increased the Kurdish population in Van and in Van Merkez.