Transit Migration And Human Smuggling In Turkey : Preliminary Findings From

TRANSIT MIGRATION AND HUMAN SMUGGLING IN TURKEY:
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM THE FIELD WORK
Nilüfer Narl, A. Türkmen, S. Ekrem, M. Çoban
1. Transit Migration: Flows of Migrants Arriving in Turkey Between
1980-2002
Until the 1980s, Turkey had been recognised as a "sending" country
in terms of international migratory flows. Since then, Turkey has changed
to become both a "receiving" and a "transit" country, and a major country
for asylum. More than two millions of people1 have sought refuge in
Turkey in one form or another. It has also become a major hub for illegal
immigration, thanks to its geography and poorly enforced immigration
laws (as explained below). There are two factors explaining the reasons
why Turkey has increasingly become a transit zone for large numbers
of people who enter Turkey legally or illegally, from the South and East
since the beginning of 1980s. First, political turmoil and the change of
regimes (e.g., the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979), wars and civil
wars, and the numerous conflicts in the Middle East (e.g., the Gulf War),
the Balkans (Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts) and the Caucasus (e.g., armed
conflict in Chechnia ) have forced refugees2, transients and all types of
migrants into the country with the hope of security, protection from
persecution and a better life. Turkey not only shares borders with many
* Prof. Dr. N. Narl›, Marmara University Head of Dept. of Sociology and her study group
A. Türkmen; Lecturer, S. Ekrem; Researcher, M. Çoban; Researcher, ISTANBUL.
1 The International Organization for Migration (IOM). 1995. Transit Migration in Turkey.
Study Completed in December 1995. Migration Information Programme.
2 For deatiled information on the refugee flows into Turkey since 1979, see Kemal Kiriflci.
1994. Refugees and Turkey Since 1945. Boagzici Research Papers, 155/AOLS 94-3, Istanbul.
of the countries in the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Balkans, but
also has cultural and ethnic ties with many...