Weder Gast noch Arbeiter
Neither guest nor worker
Ne Konuk Ne İşçi
2,8 million people with Turkish background live in Germany as of 2020. Turkey is well ahead of all other countries as a country of origin for the people with a migration background in Germany,
The immigration to Germany started in 1961 when the governments of Turkey and Germany had agreed on a recruitment policy. Initially, these people from Turkey were called “guest workers”. The number of people from Turkey continued to rise even after the recruitment process was ended in 1973. The “guest workers” brought their families to Germany, which was only one of the signs indicating that they didn’t see themselves as “guests” anymore.
I moved from Turkey to Germany in 2016. I realized that there are certain stereotypes in Germany about people from Turkey. While I was questioning these stereotypes, I felt the urge to tell the stories of people who left their home country and built a new life for themselves in Germany.
Why do people immigrate in the 21st century? What do they leave behind? What do they carry along? Who are they? This project explores the answers to these questions by visualizing the stories of people, who came to Germany from Turkey in recent years. With portraits taken in locations where the subjects live, my aim is to bring these people closer to the viewers as human beings.
2019 yılı verilerine göre* Almanya'da 2,8 milyon Türk kökenli insan yaşıyor.
Almanya'ya göç, Türkiye ve Almanya hükümetlerinin bir işe alma politikası üzerinde anlaşmasıyla 1961'de başladı. Önceleri Türkiye'den gelen bu kişilere "misafir işçi" deniyordu. Türkiye'den gelen insan sayısı, işe alım süreci 1973'te bittikten sonra bile artmaya devam etti. “Misafir işçiler” ailelerini Almanya'ya getirdiler ve bu artık kendilerini “misafir” olarak görmediklerinin işaretlerinden
sadece biriydi.
2016 yılında Türkiye'den Almanya'ya taşındığımda, Almanya'da Türkiye'den gelenlerle ilgili bazı klişeler olduğunu fark ettim. Bu klişeleri sorgularken, vatanlarını terk edip Almanya'da yeni bir hayata başlayan insanların hikayelerini anlatma ihtiyacı hissettim.
21. yüzyılda insanlar neden göç ediyor? Geride ne bırakıyorlar? Yanlarına ne alıyorlar? Kim bu insanlar? Bu proje, son yıllarda Türkiye'den Almanya'ya gelenlerin hikayelerini görselleştirerek bu soruların cevaplarını arıyor.
Frankfurt am Main, Nisan 2021
*Migrationsbericht der Bundesregierung 2019
In Deutschland leben 2,8 Millionen* Menschen mit türkischem Hintergrund.
Die Einwanderung nach Deutschland begann 1961, als sich die Regierungen der Türkei und Deutschlands auf ein Anwerbeabkommen geeinigt hatten. Anfangs wurden diese Leute aus der Türkei "Gastarbeiter" genannt. Die Zahl der Menschen aus der Türkei stieg auch nach Beendigung des Einstellungsprozesses im Jahr 1973 weiter an. Die „Gastarbeiter“ brachten ihre Familien nach Deutschland, was nur eines der Anzeichen dafür war, dass sie sich nicht mehr als „Gäste“ sahen.
Als ich im Jahr 2016 aus der Türkei nach Deutschland gezogen bin, habe ich festgestellt, dass es in Deutschland bestimmte Stereotypen über Menschen aus der Türkei gibt. Während ich diese Stereotypen in Frage stellte, verspürte ich den Drang, die Geschichten von Menschen zu erzählen, die ihr Heimatland verlassen und sich in Deutschland ein neues Leben aufgebaut haben.
Warum wandern Menschen im 21. Jahrhundert aus? Was lassen sie zurück? Was tragen sie mit? Wer sind Sie? Dieses Projekt sucht die Antworten auf diese Fragen, indem es die Geschichten von Menschen visualisiert, die in den letzten Jahren aus der Türkei nach Deutschland gekommen sind.
Frankfurt am Main, April 2021
*Migrationsbericht der Bundesregierung 2019
