Afghan shepherds in Çorum Alaca: Cultural differences and adaptation

Migration is a constant phenomenon for Afghanistan, where war and conflict have been dominant for years. Turkey is one of the countries where Afghan people migrated to various countries throughout history. Especially recently, it is seen that Afghan immigrants prefer Turkey in the first place. This study reveals the cultural differences and adaptation harmony of the Afghan shepherds, who entered Turkey from Afghanistan illegally and settled in the Alaca district of Çorum, with the local people in the region they came from. The study was conducted using in-depth interview technique with 15 Afghan shepherds and 23 Turkish participants in Alaca center and villages. In the study;, the migration routes of Afghan shepherds and the difficulties experienced in this process, the role of immigrant solidarity networks before and after migration, the attitude of local people to Afghan shepherds in adapting to the place they came from, the effect of the shepherd profession of Afghan shepherds on the adaptation process, the difficulties they face in Alaca due to being illegal, the language Tthe advantages of knowing and the solutions to the language problem, the view of the Afghan shepherds to the Alaca culture and the attitude of the local people to the cultural values of the Afghan shepherds were analyzed. It has been observed that most of the Afghan shepherds adapt easily to the place they come from, but they face some problems in the field of health, transportation and shelter due to their illegality. It has been determined that these problems are tried to be overcome with the fact that Alaca is a small settlement and the influence of the people they work with. In addition, although most of the Afghan shepherds know more or less Turkish, the solutions brought by those who do not speak the language to the language problem vary. These; language learning from television, looking at the dictionary, communicating with local people and learning languages from other Afghan friends. It has been revealed that most of the Afghan shepherds see themselves closer to Turkish culture and attach importance to Turkish cultural values, due to the similarity of Turkish culture and Afghan culture among the findings. Besides, Afghan shepherds are trying to keep their own culture alive in the region they came fromAlaca. The positive approach of the Alaca people to cultural differences prevents cultural conflicts with Afghan shepherds. This is due to the multicultural structure of Alaca. In addition, the multicultural structure facilitates the communication of Afghan shepherds with the local people and their acculturation processes.