Migratory experiences of Afghan asylum seekers living in Ankara

People leave their countries and migrate worldwide because of war, conflicts, economic and security problems, natural disasters, climate change, and epidemics. In Afghanistan's case, the country's decades of endless war and chaos have led to the emergence of many immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers globally. The endless conflicts and chaos in Afghanistan have led to the migration of Afghans to places where they feel safer. Recently, there has been a significant increase in Afghan mobility to Türkiye, emphasizing the importance of understanding this immigrant group from an academic perspective. Due to their irregular stay or entry, there has been a significant increase in the number of Afghan immigrants apprehended in Türkiye. However, Turkish legislation, Law on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP), states that individuals applying for protection in Türkiye within a reasonable timeframe and explaining their reasons will not face criminal proceedings for irregular entry and stay. The increasing apprehensions of Afghan immigrants seeking protection or asylum in Türkiye, coupled with declining international protection applications by Afghan nationals, have raised concerns about serious violations of individuals' rights to seek protection at both the domestic and international levels. This study explores the migratory experiences of Afghan asylum seekers in Ankara through qualitative research based on in-depth interview data collected from 24 Afghan asylum seekers in Ankara. The obtained data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Within the scope of this study, this thesis has investigated the reasons for Afghan migration and their preferences for Türkiye, how they navigated the barriers in their migration routes to Türkiye, their post-migratory experiences and life in Ankara, and their survival strategies in Türkiye. Among the basic findings obtained, it is prominent that Afghan asylum seekers have forcibly left their country due to persecution, migrated to Türkiye aiming to reach Western countries one day, faced serious problems before and after migration, did not want to return to Afghanistan, and still tried to migrate to Türkiye no matter what it took them to migrate.