An Analysis of Afghan Asylum Seekers and Their Identity Construction Processes

Özet

This study examines how Afghan asylum seekers’ migration experiences and identity-building processes have evolved. The aim of the study is to understand the migration of Afghan asylum seekers to Turkey, their experiences, and the process of identity formation in the Turkish context. The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 28 Afghan asylum seekers in Konya, hosting the highest asylum seeker population, using a snowball sampling method. Based on the participants’ statements, it was found that due to the discriminatory, prejudiced, and exclusionary attitudes of the local population, they were constantly forced to defend their ethnic identities, which, in turn, strengthened their connection to those identities. The ethnic hierarchies in Afghanistan manifest differently in Turkey, influencing participants’ migration decisions and interactions throughout the migration process.