Stuck on the way to Europe? Iranian transit migration to turkey.

• Author: Zijlstra, Judith
• Position: Report

Introduction

"I don't know what will happen in Iran after four years. So, I will make a plan for myself to go to America or somewhere else, like all Iranians want to. But I know I will not be able to do that, because you need to have money (....) So I said to myself: 'Ok I will not be able to go to other countries, so I have two options: to stay in Turkey, or to go back to Iran" (Farzad, 25, Iranian student at Bo?azici University in Istanbul, Turkey)

The phenomenon of transit migration has become a central element in both scholarly and policy discussions since in the 1990s, when the European Union introduced stricter border controls and imposed serious obstacles for legal migration into its territory. (1) As a consequence, more migrants from the East and the South seemed to use overland and maritime routes in order to reach Europe and had to use several "stop-overs" on the way, such as Turkey, Ukraine, Libya, Egypt and Morocco. At the same time, large inflows of migrants and asylum seekers from the South and East have transformed these so-called 'transit countries' into immigration countries in their own right. (2) However, few studies have investigated the settlement of migrants in locales that they only intended to transit. This article will try to fill part of that gap by presenting the stories of several Iranian migrants for whom the perception of Turkey transformed from a transit location into a place of immigration. What factors were important in their decision to settle down in Turkey, and how can we relate that to Turkey's changing modes of reception for foreigners from the Middle East?

Secondly, I will show how current flows of Iranian students to Turkey are connected to Turkey's development into a regional educational hub for an increasing number of students from the Middle East and Central Asia. (3) The limited research done on this topic shows that some of these students would actually prefer to study in Europe or America, but their inability to do so led them to opt for Turkey as a "second best choice". (4) This article will discuss to what extent we can compare Iranian students at Turkish universities with other Iranian migrants that originally arrived to Turkey with the intention of transiting.

In the next section, I will shortly discuss the theoretical framework on transit migration and student mobility, followed by a brief historical overview of Iranian transit migration to Turkey. Afterward, I will present the findings from my fieldwork with a focus on two groups: those Iranians who first had their mind set on a Western country but eventually settled down in Turkey, and those Iranians who came to Turkey in the context of education.

Theoretical Framework: Transit Migration and Student Mobility

The concept of transit migration emerged in the 1990s, when stricter migration policies in the EU and other Western states induced people to take more dangerous routes to reach their destination or travel through a range of third countries in the vicinity of the EU. This attracted a lot of attention from international policy makers, NGO's and scholars. (5) However, in recent years, the concept of transit migration has been thoroughly criticized as well. For example on the basis of the flawed assumption that migrants in transit zones always want to move on to Europe. (6)

On a theoretical level, the concept of transit migration is very difficult to grasp and it is even more challenging to define who a "transit migrant" is. According to Papadoupoulou (2008), transit migration is a phase in the migration process "that cuts across various migrant categories and all migrants may find themselves in the condition of transit at some point" An additional difficulty lies in the fact that a migrant's ultimate destination is not always known from the outset and usually develops while 'in transit' (7) Migrants often change their intentions and routes based on the conditions that they find in the transit country, which are influenced by various factors, such as policy changes and migrants' perception of risks related with onward movement. The variability of these conditions can also result in migrants' decision to settle down in what was originally only seen as a transit country. (8) Therefore, it is not always possible to perceive the journey of a migrant simply as a movement from A (the origin) to B (the destination), but the phase in between A and B is of crucial importance for the outcome of the journey. (9)

Furthermore, the concept of transit migration is often associated with irregular migration and human smuggling, while many migratory movements (such as migration from Iran to Turkey) actually consist of mixed flows and include asylum seekers, refugees and legal labor migrants as well. (10) Nevertheless, it has been observed that for migrants with higher levels of education and financial resources, it is easier to cross borders and thus their time spent in transit is shorter. (11) As such, it is very important to conduct research on higher educated migrants, such as students, who find themselves in a "transit phase" within their larger migration process. Such studies have been rather scarce until now.

One of the exceptions is formed by Berriane (2009), who did research on Sub-Saharan African students in Morocco and connected them to other (transit) migrants in the country. He found that the overwhelming majority (82 percent) of Sub-Saharan students intended to move on to Europe or North America after graduation, instead of returning back home. (12) In the case of Australia, Ghim Thye Tan showed that 21 percent of Chinese and Indian students wanted to migrate onwards to another country, usually the UK or the United States. (13) Lastly, studies suggest that also Russia is used as an important transit route for students. Since the 1990's, many individuals from countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East arrived to Russia with student visas and hoped to move on to Western European countries. (14)

In recent decades, the rising importance of the global knowledge economy has actually led to an enormous expansion in international student mobility towards OECD countries. In addition to the increase in the number of international students worldwide (from 800.000 students in 1975 to 4.3 million in 2011, (15) there is also a significant proportion of students do not return home and transform from 'students' into 'migrants' (16) This development is facilitated and sometimes even encouraged by Western governments, which need highly skilled migrants in order to fill up certain labor shortages in the economy. (17) At the same time, the tuition fees of international student present much-needed additional income for universities that are faced with increasing privatization. (18) Moreover, in light of the restrictions on the mobility of low-skilled and irregular migrants, using the "educational channel" often becomes the only legal possibility for young people from developing societies to move to other countries. (19)

The attraction of international students has also become an important issue for universities in Turkey, as they are trying to keep up with the internationalization of education in the context of decreasing state funding. (20) As a result, the number of foreign students in Turkey has more than quadrupled from 10,000 students in 2000 to 45,000 students in 2014. (21) Turkey has been particularly active in recruiting students from Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. For these students, Turkey's geographical and cultural proximity, low subsistence costs and Westernized system of education are important pull-factors. (22) However, up until now, there have been no studies that investigate what happens after international students in Turkey graduate. For example, do most of them return to their home country, find a job in Turkey or move onwards to another nation? One study by Tekelioglu et al. on 80 foreign medicine students in Ankara suggests that there is definitely a possibility that a proportion of foreign students will settle down in Turkey: in their survey, 48 percent of the students considered staying in Turkey after graduation. (23)

Iranian Migration to the West via Turkey: A Background

In order to contextualize the movement of Iranian students to Turkey, it is important to look at the broader history of Iranian migration to Western countries. This movement really took off in the 1960s and 1970s, when many wealthy Iranians went abroad to study in the United States. (24) However, the 1979 Islamic Revolution caused unprecedented numbers of Iranians to flee their home country in the face of increasing political oppression, censorship and human rights abuses. (25) In general, it is accepted that the outflow of Iranian migrants in the 1980s was of a more political nature, while Iranian migrants after 1990 had more economic incentives to leave. (26) Despite the mix of political, economic and social reasons to leave, many Iranians chose the "asylum route" and eventually obtained refugee status in the West. (27)

Currently the majority of Iranians abroad reside in the United States, while the remainder can be found in other Western countries such as Canada, Germany and Sweden. (28) It is important to note that a large proportion of the Iranians living abroad are generally well-educated, causing a significant and persisting brain drain in Iran. There are several factors that suggest that this "academic exodus" will continue in the next few years. For instance, Iran...