Paper long abstract:

This paper deals with a rather specific type of migration, which has in recent years achieved considerable attention, namely ethnic repatriation. In specific, it will look at the case of Kazakstan, which has experienced tremendous demographic shifts in the course of the last decades. Within a period of 25 years, one million ethnic Kazaks moved to their 'historical homeland', following an official invitation by the latter's government. Today, the repatriates make up for some six per cent of the total population, and close to ten per cent of the titular group. The first to come were Kazaks from Mongolia, of which in several waves and counter-movements, roughly sixty per cent have left their country of origin for a variety of reasons. Mostly settling in the northern parts of Kazakstan, which are dominated by Russian-speakers, many of them feel disadvantaged and lacking the support promised to them upon migration. Instead, transnational ties with the kin left behind in Mongolia are often a more vivid part of their social networks.

This paper will investigate the role of hope and it's vanishing during the migration process. In the first place it will address the question of who had hoped for what, and why things did not materialise the way they were supposed to. Obviously, expectations for the migrants had been created by the inviting state, which had it's own hopes with their resettlement. Neither of these have been realistic as time has proven retrospectively. And both sides could be blamed for a certain naïve enthusiasm in the beginning. The situation has changed in the meantime and besides the difficulties of integrating at their new homes, the oralman - as the repatriates are called in Kazakstan - sense a new hopelessness when it comes to the option of a return to Mongolia, although the latter state shows no strong objection to this. But unfulfilled expectations are now understood as failure by both migrants and by those who stayed preventing new hopes to emerge.

Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses ethnic return migration in Kazakstan which involved 1 million people to migrate into the country and role of hope in this migration process.

Paper long abstract:

Over 1 million Kazaks have migrated to Kazakstan in the last three decades. Leaving behind their houses and familiar living environment in the countries such as China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Iran, and also Afghanistan. What it is that brought them to Kazakstan? We assume in every decision-making process people calculate losses and gains, and take certain risks. In order to take the risk there should be something that gives them hope. What is it in case of return migration in Kazakstan? It is an independent Kazak state who served as a main 'hope-giver'. I will illustrate in which form this hope is given and how convincing was state's promise for people who decided to migrate? Apart from the state, did migrants have also other sources providing hope? What are they? I will look at hope as belief which drives people to take actions towards the 'better future'.

Paper long abstract:

It has become a truism to stress Turkey's character as an immigration country, which it is already on a significant level for many years. This presentation is focusing on Central Asians in Turkey where they form a large group of migrants in recent years. This started in the early 90's as petty traders between Turkey and their home countries while in recent years they became a part of many Turkish households from childcare to nursing or, increasingly, as marriage partners. The exact numbers are unknown but most originate from three former Soviet Republics, namely Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Although it started as a highly gendered migration, with dominantly women making their way to Turkey, in recent years men have also became a part of this journey, either independently or joining their wives and partners already there. The majority are undocumented or illegal migrants spending from months to several years in Turkey. More and more work beyond the domestic sector, trying to survive in Turkey and to support those left behind in their home countries. To some extent, Turkey has replaced Russia as the main destination for Central Asian migrants for economic reasons and out of the fear of xenophobic attacks.

The situation in Turkey, however, has also changed significantly with this New Year event in a nightclub in Istanbul where a perpetrator originating from Uzbekistan killed dozens in a terrorist attack. As a consequence, migrants from Central Asia increasingly became targets of verbal but also physical abuse. But the Turkish state discourse "kin people" from the "Turkic Republics" was never corresponding to everyday practice, neither in Central Asia nor, and increasingly less so, in Turkey. This presentation aims to give a picture of the circumstances and perceptions of migrants who were seen as kin but now are incrementally undifferentiated as "others" in the present Turkish context

Paper long abstract:

When the Central Asian countries became independent states, they faced the dilemma of constructing ideologies that would give meaning and purpose to each new entity. For nearly 200 years most independent states have opted for nationalism that provided the raison d'être for ethnically-based states. The nation became the apotheosis of ethnicity. Indeed, this became a morass for the Central Asian countries. The application of the old model has worked badly. The necessity of mass migration due to local economics caused migrants to consider the importance of nationalism in light of the new nation-states dislocations and dictatorial tendencies, to say nothing of the mistreatment of millions of people from various ethnic minorities living in each of the new countries. Taking this factor into consideration with the treatment Central Asian nationals themselves experienced outside of their respective countries, and the result in part is the turmoil of identity. Migration experiences and nationalism have led to crises by which Central Asians confront the nation-building experiences of the past 25 years. This presentation will discuss concrete manifestations of these identity crises, and then suggest ways in which both the strengthening of independence and the ideology that supports respective nation-states can serve those countries of Central Asia affected most adversely by these crises.