Human-object relationship and affect in Syrian immigrant experiences

Human beings are not isolated from their environment and each component that makes up their environment. Every element has an impact on the individual, from the decoration products used in his home, to the views, from the weather to personal belongings. In this sense, goods, material culture products and other objects are a part of life. People relate to objects in a variety of contexts. The experience of migration is one of the contexts in which people relate to objects. Migration is an experience of deprivation. This experience brings about a relationship with objects, and this relationship creates emotions. In this study, the human-object relationship in the experience of Syrian immigrants was tried to be exposed and the cultural categories that the relationship corresponded to were analyzed through a classification attempt. Accordingly, this study reveals the affective dynamics that shape the experiences of Syrian immigrants. In this context, the affective dynamics of Syrian immigrants were discussed in categories such as hometown, family, home, belief and close relationships, with a method followed through objects. It has been determined that sometimes Syrian immigrants take an object with them when they leave their country. In some cases, it has been observed that they cannot always take anything with them due to the sudden decision to migrate, but on the contrary, whatever they have on them at that moment, these objects gain a meaning by crossing the border. In some cases, it has been observed that they use items that remind them of old ways of life in Turkey. It can be said that this is done especially through the decoration of the newly settled house in the construction of the feeling of home. It has been observed that some items are objects of faith/belief in terms of their relationship with trust. Some objects are items that replace lost or separated family members, relatives and close friendships. In addition, the study sought answers to questions such as the role of objects in remembering and how immigrants manage the deprivation experienced regarding the separated meanings and facts. It can be said that through smartphones, related objects are circulated between groups, communication is maintained by sharing objects between groups that cannot produce new common experiences, emotions are produced and thus the sense of closeness is preserved and memories of the homeland are kept alive.