Rewriting National Narratives through the Study of Past Migrations: Turkey’s History of Migrations

ABSTRACT

This article explores the roles played by the memory of past migrations in the construction of national identity. National narratives tend to include and exclude certain migration experiences. Looking at historical evidence and alternative narratives of past migrations can help redefining a more inclusive national identity. Using the case of Turkey, the article identifies the migrations absent from the official narrative: migrations to Anatolia before 1071 CE (the arrival of Turkic tribes) and forced migrations during the Ottoman and Republican periods. Rehabilitating these migratory experiences leads to the recognition of both a glorious and violent past, and can help bringing together Turkey’s diverse identities.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr. Mark Miller from the University of Delaware, as well as two anonymous reviewers, who have all contributed greatly to the improvement of this manuscript. Any remaining shortcoming is mine alone.

ORCID

Juliette Tolay http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0933-4683

Notes

1. This research included semi-structured interviews conducted with ordinary Turkish citizens (N = 26, snowball sampling) and migration experts (N = 62, including scholar, state and NGO representatives) in Turkey (Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Gaziantep, Van and Silopi) between 2008 and 2013. While snowball sampling can be problematic regarding representativeness, a special effort was put in controlling for diversity based on gender, age, level of education, political orientation and location. State representatives interviewed were typically high-level or low-level bureaucrats working in the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the then called ‘Migration and Asylum Agency.’ Interviews were conducted according to the author’s institution IRB requirements, and oral consent was acquired and recorded at the onset of each interview.

2. Analysis of the curriculum is based on the official curricular program documented in: http://ttkb.meb.gov.tr/program2.aspx (last accessed 28 July 2017).

3. Meeting with state representative, October 2009, Istanbul.

4. Meeting with state representative, October 2009, Van.

5. [My translation from Turkish], Meeting with state representative, October 2009, Ankara.

6. [My translation from Turkish], Meeting with state representative, October 2009, Istanbul.

7. Example: ‘My family comes from the Balkans. My great grand-parents used to live in Yugoslavia. In the same way in which the exchange of population with Greece, they made sure Turks from Yugoslavia can come here’ [My translation from Turkish], Interview, Izmir, June 2008.

8. Meeting with NGO representative, June 2008, Istanbul

9. [My translation from Turkish], Interview, June 2008, Izmir

10. [My translation from Turkish], Interview, June 2008, Izmir

11. See a summary of the different DNA test research findings on the following website: ‘Anatolian Turkish Genetics: Abstracts and Summaries,’ http://www.khazaria.com/genetics/anatolian-turks.html (last accessed 28 July 2017).

12. Both terms—Anatolia and Asia Minor—are often used interchangeably to refer to the same geographic area. There seems to be however a tendency to talk about Asia Minor before the arrival of the Turks, and to talk about Anatolia since.

13. Also called the Kingdom of Ararat, and usually considered one of the people constituting the ethnosynthesis of the Armenian identity. The Urartus are indeed succeeded by the first Armenian kingdom in the sixth-century CE.

14. See for instance: ‘[In the 3rd century BCE,] Greek texts mention Celtic warriors bands in Asia Minor’ (Wells, 2001, p. 81) or

But the greatest expansion of the [Jewish] diaspora occurred after the conquests of Alexander the Great (332-323 BC) and migration from Palestine was encouraged. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70 caused another wave. It is thought that by the 2nd century A.D. there may have been a million Jews settled in Asia Minor, located in most of the major trading cities. (Burke, 1997)