Hopes in transition: an ethnography of sub-saharan African migrants in Istanbul

Istanbul has become one of the most crucial nodes in the global network of refugees and migrants' trails, routes and destinations to Europe. Consequently, Istanbul has become a "hub" for migrants and refugees who are waiting impatiently to sneak across the border in the dark of the night to Greece or Bulgaria. Moreover, sub-Saharan African transit migrants' numbers have increased drastically in Istanbul over the years. This phenomenon is the subject matter of this ethnographic research project. This research has three objectives: first and foremost, is to explore the causes and triggers of migration in Sub-Saharan African countries; Second, is to relay the lived experiences, testimonies, voices, struggles, "victories", resilience, hurdles and pains of the Sub-Saharan African migrant throughout the long journeys that are imbued with hopes of prosperity but that have in-store for the migrants detentions, violence, death, rape, vulnerability, exploitation, racism, Xenophobia, uncertainties, humanitarian aid, and sensationalist media coverage; third, is to offer an ethnographic account of sub-Saharan African migrants' life-experiences, life-conditions and livelihoods in Istanbul. The aim of this study is to paint and portray the sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees as victims and "creation" of a multi-faceted and complex interactions of matrices. These include: the brutal legacy of colonialism and its subsequent demolition of existing indigenous social, environmental and political institution; the failure of the post-colonial nationbuilding processes in many sub-Saharan Africa countries; exploitative capitalism and financial corporations that has wreak havoc on the environments, hence altering centuries-long communal lives and their natural eco-system. This thesis aims to contribute to the sociology and anthropology of migration studies in Turkey and subsequently critique and challenge essentialist approaches predicated on security, humanitarianism, nationalist and integration perspectives that disregard implicitly and discursively the life experiences, testimonies and personal struggles of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Keywords: Borders, Life-stories, Migrants, Post-colonialism, Refugees, Sub-Sahara Africa