Migration, integration and perceptions: A case study of Afghan asylum seekers in Sivas

The ultimate goal of this study is to analyze the local people's perception of Afghan asylum seekers' integration processes within the framework of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in the case of Sivas city of Turkey. Since 1979, Afghans, who have fled from their countries due to invasions and civil war which caused political instabilities, economic insufficiencies, and concerns for the future, have represented a visible example of human mobility. In the literature, although there are various studies on Afghans related to security-oriented themes such as war, terror, and drug trade, studies focusing on local people's perception regarding the integration processes of Afghan asylum seekers are unfortunately insufficient. Sivas satellite city, similarly, has not been examined in this context, although it has been transformed into a city of immigrants due to the Afghans' influx. Therefore, this study concentrates on Afghan asylum seekers who constitute the second largest immigrant group in Turkey, and aims to examine their integration processes in Sivas with a focus on the perceptions of local people. In particular, it investigates the factors that have determined the perceptions of local people on Afghan asylum seekers' integration processes. Also, it questions whether the arrival of Syrian refugees to Sivas affected the local people's perceptions of Afghan asylum seekers and their integration processes. As the study deals with many concepts and topics, it employs a mixed research design based mostly on qualitative methods, and uses Grounded Theory as the theoretical framework to have a comprehensive understanding of the issue. The mixed research methodology includes both qualitative and quantitative methods. This study depends not only on the data derived from the analytical review of the relevant academic studies on migration but also on the data derived from a fieldwork that includes surveys and in depth interviews. Particularly, a survey was conducted with 400 local people and interviews were conducted with 50 local people. The data derived from the survey was analyzed by a qualitative data analysis software, SPSS IBM Statistics 20, while the data obtained from the interviews was analyzed through creating codes and themes. The quantitative data was presented by tables and graphs with the percentages and frequencies. The qualitative data, on the other hand, was presented through codes and themes referring to the statements of local people to enable the readers to hear the voice of the research subjects. All this data was discussed in a comparative manner. The study completes its discussion by making some suggestions and recommendations based on its findings.