A research on iraqi Turkmens forced to migrate from Iraq to Turkey: Ankara case

Migration, in most general terms, is a phenomenon in which individuals or human groups change their residing environments temporarily or permanently thanks to various reasons. Human beings migrate voluntarily or compulsorily to adapt to changing living conditions and to linger on. The most frequently encountered reasons for human beings' to leave their residing environments are such compulsory conditions as war and economic problems. Turkmens are a Turkic community living in Northern Iraq for centuries. Some of Iraqi Turkmens have migrated to Turkey's different provinces and districts in different times due to oppressive regimes, instability, ethnic conflicts, foreign interventions and warfares. In this study, Iraqi Turkmens' reasons for migration to Turkey, in particular to Ankara, which has been ongoing since the Gulf War, migration processes, results and their living conditions in Ankara are examined. With the aim of accessing valid information, after getting into touch with the Iraqi Turkmens Association for Culture and Aid, Iraqi Turkmen migrants in Ankara have been contacted with. Qualitative research method has been employed in the study. Accordingly, in-depth interviews have been carried out with participants within the sample. This study, different from other academic researches on Iraq and Turkmens, aims intensity and in-depth information about Iraqi Turkmens in Ankara, rather than being a research for prevalence determination. Furthermore, since current sociological structure of the Iraqi Turkmens in Ankara have been examined, this study is supposed to make contribution into the literature. Keywords: Migration, forced migration, cultural processes, Iraqi Turkmens, Ankara