“the Name Says It All, It's Saraybostan”: Life in the Inner-City through Low-Income Kurdish Migrant Women's Eyes

Background and purpose: Inner-city neighborhoods are challenging for their residents due to risk factors such as poverty, lack of resources, and criminal activities. Yet, many families actively strive to live “normal” lives. Studies in Turkey explored low-income families’ experiences with migration to larger cities from their rural hometowns, including those of internally displaced Kurdish women and their families. Studies have also documented the physical conditions, l However, less is known about how Kurdish migrant families make meaning of their everyday lives in an inner-city context and the coping strategies they have developed against the risk factors in the community. This article explores the complexities of liviliving in an inner-city neighborhood for Kurdish migrant families through women’s eyes.

Methods: As part of a larger ethnographic study, 27 low-income Kurdish migrant mothers were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Ranging in age from 22 to 46 years, mothers were first-generation migrants from the villages in the southeast and east regions of Turkey. All mothers, except one, were married. The number of children in the household varied from one to nine (median =4). Participating women and their families all lived below the official poverty level in Turkey.

Data was collected through demographic surveys, semi-structured in-depth interviews, and participant observations. Demographic surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Through repeated readings of transcribed interviews and field notes, themes and patterns were identified using analytic induction techniques.

Findings: All women were concerned about criminal activities in their neighborhood, but some also acknowledged the protection gangs provided on their block. Regular” residents were passive in taking action against the crime in Saraybostan. This passivity resulted not from weak social ties but from the combination of hopelessness and helplessness perpetuated by police passivity and fear of retaliation. Women and their families coped with criminal activities in the community by distancing themselves and their children from the perpetrators of crime. In contrast to the distrust and estrangement that typically characterize resident relations in inner-city neighborhoods, women maintained close ties with their neighbors, whom they considered fictive kin. Neighbor relations, though contentious at times, provided both emotional and practical support to women and was a critical coping strategy to navigate inner-city life. Different from the literature that suggests limited social capital in disadvantaged communities, neighbor relations created a social capital for Kurdish women that facilitated cooperation and coordination for mutual benefit, and provided both social support and social leverage.

Conclusion/Implications: The findings showed that while low-income Kurdish migrant families struggled with the crime, a sense of belonging and social cohesion existed in the neighborhood and that many families sought to live “conventional” lives in the midst of criminal activities. The study identifies two critical strengths, strive for a conventional lifestyle and existing social ties, for social workers and community organizers to capitalize on and to organize the community for effective advocacy against crime while considering unique dynamics between “conventional” residents and those involved in crime.