Abstract:

This study is based on the field work of ten Bulgarian Turkish migrants who were born in Bulgaria, who were subjected to similar pressures by the Communist regime between 1984 and 1989, who migrated to Turkey, who lived in Turkey for a while and who were then forced to migrate back to Bulgaria, and the field work of the Bulgarian Turkish migrants who were subjected to similar pressures between 1984 and 1989. The aim of the study is to explore the influence of Bulgarian Turkish immigrant women’s experiences on both sides of the border on self-identity formations. Under the name of the experiences on the two sides of the border, first of all, the Bulgarian Turkish migrant women will also focus on the work experience formed by the mandatory work policy of the communist regime and whether they are subjected to double burden as workers, spouses or mothers. Secondly, the State of Turkey will focus on the different immigration experiences formed by the State of Turkey on the basis of the identity of the immigrants as co-workers, legal immigrants or illegal immigrants. Finally, the experiences of Bulgarian Turkish immigrant women returning to Bulgaria will be detailed through the differentiation between unwanted immigration and unwanted immigration. The unwanted or unwanted return experiences of Bulgarian Turkish migrants will reveal how they perceive their identity in Bulgaria. The results of the field study showed that when individuals take into account their homeland perceptions, it is impossible to have a precise and unchanged definition of homeland. This impossibility is closely related to whether the women who returned to Bulgaria after emigrating to Turkey did so in line with their wishes. Those who return to Bulgaria voluntarily see Bulgaria as their homeland, while for those who return involuntarily, Turkey is the homeland. As a result, there is no fixed Bulgarian Turkish immigration and femininity, and the women in question do not have a fixed identity. Bulgarian Turkish immigrant women have many different identities that change depending on the political structure of the country they are born, the changing attitude of the Turkish State towards immigrants, the fact that the women mentioned have returned voluntarily to Bulgaria, and ultimately in the country they are currently living, i.e. in Bulgaria, how they perceive themselves. This study will show the importance of the ethnography in the discipline of anthropology by considering the impossibility of making any generalization of Bulgarian Turkish immigrant women.

Abstract:

This research is based on the fieldwork that was conducted with nineteen Bulgarian Turkish immigrant women in the Kardzhali district of Bulgaria. These women were born in Bulgaria, exposed to similar oppressions by the communist regime between 1984 and 1989, migrated to Turkey, experienced the life in Turkey for a while, and, then, returned/forced to return to Bulgaria. The aim of the research is to analyze the effects of Bulgarian Turkish immigrant women’s experiences on the two sides of the border on their self-identity construction. Firstly, I will focus on their working experiences with respect to compulsory labor under the communist regime, as well as on whether or not they were exposed to “double burden” as workers, wives, and mothers. Secondly, the differences in their migration experiences in Turkey depending on their being perceived by the Turkish state as soydaş, legal immigrant, or illegal immigrant will be elaborated. Lastly, Bulgarian Turkish immigrant women’s return experiences to Bulgaria, which were shaped by the nature of their return, i.e. voluntarily or not, will be explicated. Their voluntary or involuntary return experiences will highlight how they perceive themselves in Bulgaria. The results of the fieldwork show that when the individuals’ perception of homeland is taken into consideration, it is impossible to give an exact and unchanging definition of homeland. This impossibility is closely related to whether those women who returned to Bulgaria after migrating to Turkey returned to Bulgaria voluntarily or not. While those who returned to Bulgaria voluntarily see Bulgaria as their homeland, Turkey is the homeland for those who returned to Bulgaria involuntarily. To conclude, there is no permanent conception of the Bulgarian Turkish immigrant nor the permanent identity of Bulgarian Turkish immigrant women. There are many different identities that were assigned to them depending on the political conditions of where they were born, as well as on the changing attitude of the Turkish-state towards its immigrants, their voluntary or involuntary return to Bulgaria, and how they perceived themselves in the country where they are currently living. This research reveals the impossibility of making generalizations about Bulgarian Turkish immigrant women. Accordingly, this research also shows the importance of ethnography of particular for the discipline of anthropology.

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