12,000 Armenian Citizens Working Illegally in Turkey, Majority are Women

There are between 12,000 and 13,000 Armenian citizens working illegally in Turkey, according to the results of a study by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, which will be made available to the public next month.

According to the study, 94% of the Armenians working in Turkey are women, with very few Armenian men accompanying their spouses to Turkey or working here. Armenian women tend to work as childcare and homecare providers, and cleaning and sales staff. Most of the Armenian men who accompany their wives here choose not to work at all, while those who do tend to work in the jewelry business.

Head researcher Alin Ozinian, an İstanbul native of Armenian descent, worked for two years on the project, which culminated in a 150-page report to be released in Istanbul next month.

The report makes important claims as to the number of Armenians living in Turkey. According to official numbers, 6,000 Armenians did not return home after traveling to Turkey between 2000 and 2008. Ozinian adds figures from the 1990s to this number and says the number of Armenians illegally living in Turkey is not 70,000–100,000 as has previously been asserted, but is actually closer to 12,000–13,000.

An interesting finding of the study is that those migrating from Armenia prefer to work and live with Turks in İstanbul, as opposed to Armenians who are natives of the city. Immigrant Armenians say the “moral values” of Turks and Armenians are very close. Amongst the survey questions asked as part of the study was, “Is there a difference between the idea of a Turk you had in your head before coming here and the ideas you have now?” Most of the answers expressed a fear of Turks before coming, and after living and working with them, a more positive impression is formed.

Armenian immigrant children often do not continue their education after coming to Turkey, and children born in the country have no official birth certificates. As there is no Armenian consulate or embassy in Turkey, they are children without identities or nationality.

Source: Tert – Original Article

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