Refugees from iran in denizli: A comparative analysis of daily life, communication and social problems

Although the migrations that emerged in the 21st century show that the nation-state borders are starting to become obscure, the perception of "we" in our minds is becoming more and more evident against foreigners who cross borders through migration and together with whom we live and encounter more and more each passing day. The processes, that make up and reinforce the perception of "we", are undoubtedly the source of "otherhood" eventuating on the basis of differences. Therefore, this study examines the context of the emergence of the foreigner who got in by crossing the borders, in other words, the relations between "us" and "the other". Based on this information, the main purpose of the study is to understand how Iranian refugees, specifically in the province of Denizli, exhibit their daily routines under the influence of cultural, religious and sexual identities they live as a "foreigner", and in this context, how exclusion occurs through othering and discrimination; to understand how social belonging and communication processes work; and to understand the perspectives of the people of Denizli, the contacts they establish in daily life, the behaviour levels they develop and their perceptions and attitudes towards Iranian refugees. Within the scope of the study, first of all, interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with Iranian refugees, who were recruited through sampling techniques such as snowballing, maximum variation and theoretical sampling, using a semi-structured in-depth questionnaire prepared by the researcher. Attempts were made to make the process become meaningful by including observation technique in the interviewing process. More than one interview was conducted with some of the sampling units and eventually, Iranian sample comprised of 30 people considering the theoretical saturation. In order to obtain data from the people of Denizli, which were another target sample of the research, and to read the process from a two-way perspective, a survey was conducted in the first three neighbourhoods where Iranian refugees were most densely populated. 431 people with a high level of representation were reached using the questionnaire prepared again by the researcher and these people were included in the sample of the study. Qualitative data obtained from Iranian refugee sampling units within the scope of the research were analysed according to Grounded Theory; while quantitative data obtained from the people of Denizli were explained according to the Descriptive Analysis. In this context, the research findings obtained from a two-way perspective show that Iranian refugees are agnominated as foreigners in Denizli and transformed into "others" and that they are spatially segregated by being exposed to discrimination, exclusion and stigmatization by the society. Another finding of the study was that Iranian refugees developed communicative tactics and strategies in the face of talked-about statuses they were exposed to and that they were in two minds between these two statuses.