The Provincial Directorates General of Migration Management working under the governorates discriminate against the immigrants through segregationist and racist discourses over the Turkish language.
The allegations regarding the ill-treatment against the immigrants have come to the fore in the Directorate General of Migration Management which administrate the relations of the immigrants at the state level. Immigrants, who are frequently exposed to racist and segregationist discourses, are also treated discriminately depending on their status such as ‘‘rich-poor’’ and ‘‘educated-uneducated’’. Immigrants are often verbally abused by the employees working at the institution.
According to a report in daily Duvar, Azerbaijani S.M., who has been in Turkey for 6 years and identified with the initials, stated that the Directorate of Migration Management works with the appointment system so that it is known which language-speaking person will arrive at the institution at what time.
EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTION DO NOT SPEAK FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Telling that despite the appointment system, immigrants have serious difficulties, S.M. noted that ‘‘the only thing the officers do at the information desk is enumerating the immigrants, but they are important because they are the first contact with the foreigner. Yet, the officers cannot respond the questions, because they cannot speak any foreign languages. The foreigners only ask simple questions such as ‘my document has expired; I would like to revalidate it, where should I go?’ These consultants, getting angry with the immigrants due to the questions they could not understand, explode with anger and say that ‘You have come to our country, we have provided you a comfortable living. Then, firstly learn Turkish, and come again!’ These people working as consultants at the information desk might say ‘it smells bad’ referring the foreigners’’.
THERE’S NO COMPETENT AUTHORITY TO COMPLAIN
Stating that those who comes from democratic countries more react against injustices and insults, S.M. determines that ‘‘the officers try to more oppress the citizens coming from non-democratic countries. There is no a competent authority to complain these kinds of troubles. There is the Communication Center for Foreigners (YIMER 157), but even if you call them, they do not accept the complaints…’’
Saying that people refrain from asking questions about what they are curious about despite their rightfulness, S.M also remarks that ‘‘you can feel the despair on the faces of those immigrants when you come through the door of the Directorate General of Migration Management. This is one of the institutions where a foreigner coming to Turkey firstly consults. As far as I am concerned, there has been an anti-immigrant sentiment among the Turkish people due to the increasing number of refugees, but they should know that this was not a choice for the immigrants or refugees. Living in Turkey, raising their children in this country is not the first choice of those people.’’
