Migration experiences of Syrian migrant adolescent female students: An interpretative phenomenological analysis research

This study was carried out to reveal the migration experiences of Syrian immigrant adolescent female students who came to Turkey from Syria by forced migration. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used in the method of this study, which was handled with a qualitative research approach. Syrian adolescent female students who attended high school in Ankara were selected participants of this study.Interviews with their mothers were also conducted in order to more in-depth explore the experiences of Syrian adolescent girls who immigrate to Turkey from Syria through forced migration. In this way, it was ensured that the perceptions of Syrian adolescent girls about their migration experiences were explored more comprehensively as the phenomenon under investigation. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescent migrant girls and their mothers. Interviews were conducted between September 2020 and December 2020. The interviews consisted of questions addressing the same topics for both adolescents and their mothers. In the interviews, experiences in the migration process were discussed in the context of pre-migration, during migration, and post-migration. As a result of the analysis of the interview contents, six main themes were identified, namely 1) Live under threat, 2) Transition from danger to safety, 3) Mixed feelings towards the country left behind, 4) The pains of settling in the new country 5) Change, 6) Expectations and plans for the future. As a result of this study, it was determined that migrant adolescent girls have many challenging experiences in all processes of migration. In this study, considering the experiences of migrant adolescent girls in the migration process, it is recommended to create programs that can eliminate tension, discrimination, marginalization, and socio-economic deprivation to facilitate the settlement process of adolescents in the community and to integrate into school life.