Türkiye'deki transit mülteciler ve dil edinimleri: Sivas'taki afganlar hakkında bir örnek olay incelemesi

This work characterizes the sociological and sociolinguistic situation faced byrefugees and asylum seekers living temporarily in Turkey. Despite the fact that suchinformation could be of direct use to refugee aid organizations and refugee-receivingcountries, there has been no serious attempt to research the ways in which theseparticular transit refugees obtain education. This study is an initial attempt to addressthis research gap, in particular with regard to language learning.The study has three main components: First, it characterizes the linguisticchallenges faced by refugees both while living in Turkey and after they have resettledto a third country. Second, it gives an overview of the opportunities currently availableto refuges and asylum seekers to learn Turkish and English, either privately or throughformal instruction, while living in Turkey. The final component gives informedspeculation on what sorts of systematic changes, either to the Turkish legal system or to the aid programs offered by non-governmental organizations, might amelioratesome of the problems present in the current system. The study is based on a series ofinterviews with refugees and representatives of various aid organizations.The results of the study indicate that there are a variety of traditional andnon-traditional forms of refugee language learning going on in Turkey, but that theseare viewed as grossly insufficient both by aid organizations and refugees themselves.Afghan refugees interviewed in Sivas, for instance, consistently spoke of languageacquisition as one of the biggest challenges they face, and a crucial aspect of how theyspend their time in Turkey. Interviewees were acutely aware of the fact that they wouldneed English in order to lead successful lives after resettlement, while aidorganizations generally saw the need for new educational structures, but had not beenable to offer broad support outside of Istanbul and Ankara.In the analysis portion of this study, some of the main difficulties faced by aidorganizations interested in providing language support are addressed, and suggestionsare made concerning how future aid projects might sensibly be implemented.