An ethnographic investigation of encounters of Syrians and locals in Esenler, Istanbul: Urban, everyday life, and informalization

This thesis tries to produce a framework showing how is a socialization system generated around interactions, relations, spaces, and informal economies of Syrian refugees and local citizens. Around this main question, this study focuses on the various forms of relations between Syrian refugees and locals in everyday life, urban spaces, and the informal garment sector via the merdivenaltı garment ateliers in the Esenler district of Istanbul. The answers that are presented in this thesis are based on empirical material, collected in the Esenler district of İstanbul, including a participant observation in a merdivenaltı garment atelier, as well as a total of 60 in-depth interviews with Syrian refugees and local citizens. Besides this empirical material, it is conducted in-depth interviews with 10 Syrian and 12 Turkish immigrants in Sweden, Stockholm/Rinkeby, and Norrköping/Hageby. This study shows that the socialization process of Syrian refugees and local citizens is a struggle that takes forms of bargain, conflict, exchange, and solidarity.