Making visible the invisible: Life strategies and gender perceptions of the seasonal agricultural workers who lives in tents in Tarsus district of Mersin

Seasonal agricultural workers who are deprived of humane living conditions, are the group with the worst conditions in the labor market. This group is frequently on the move and often migrates to areas far from their residential areas. This study aims to investigate the tent life, daily life experiences, socio-economic structures, working conditions, cultural interactions, and gender perceptions of seasonal agricultural worker households starting from their migration movements. For this purpose, in depth interviews were conducted with 29 seasonal agricultural workers, four of them Syrian and two intermediaries, living on tents in Tarsus, Mersin, one employer, three headmen, and three doctors, using qualitative research methods. Thus, it was possible to evaluate the working and social relations of seasonal agricultural workers in a multidimensional way by examining various groups such as indigenous people, employers, and intermediaries with whom they interact. According to the results of the field study, it has been observed that the workers who migrated in large groups from their residential areas to participate in agricultural production live in shelter and working environments away from humanistic conditions. Workers usually live on tents where there is no infrastructure such as electricity, water, and sewage. Seasonal agricultural workers work without social security, under long working hours and poor working conditions. In addition to their lack of security, the agricultural workers' feeling of being excluded and alienated from social life due to their ethnic identities has emerged as a result of the interviews. Also, it has been observed that especially women and children are more fragile and disadvantaged in agricultural production and living conditions. Seasonal agricultural work can be described as "the modern version of slavery" in this sense, which legal regulations do not adequately protect/cover despite all the negativities in living and working conditions. Keywords: Seasonal Agricultural Work, Working and Living Conditions, Gender Perception, Tarsus