VAN - Stating that Van is one of the cities with the highest internal migration in Turkey, Employment Specialist Sinan Ok said that the population decrease in the city stems from the policy and political project implemented since the 90s.
Kurdistan cities; Due to unemployment, war, political pressures and economic difficulties, it is among the cities with the highest internal migration. Van, with a population of one million 200 thousand, is one of the 5 cities with the largest young population in Turkey, and ranked 11th in the list of provinces with the highest number of immigrants in 2021, according to the Internal Migration Statistics of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). Evaluating the population decline in the city, Employment Specialist Sinan Ok pointed to the special policies and political projects implemented in the population reduction.
MIGRATION POLICY
Noting that internal migration has historical and current dynamics, Ok said: "There has always been a policy of forced migration throughout the history of Kurdistan. The policy of displacement here by narrowing the living conditions of the people and restricting their original livelihoods is a policy inherited from the Ottomans. When we look at the current increase in migration, policies of forced migration were implemented, such as village evacuation, bans on plateaus and pastures, evacuation of villages under the name of mass housing, which started in the 90s and has survived to the present day. When we look at the recent migration, we see it mostly as an economy. The pandemic has deepened the already existing economic crisis. When we look at the provinces of the region; ranks last in income, employment, and living conditions statistics. Wan is one of them. Van ranks 79th among 81 provinces in terms of income per capita. Van's feature is: Van is actually the largest metropolis in the region. Population growth should be towards here, whereas population decline here is the result of a policy. It shows that the policy of unemployment, impoverishment and depopulation is effective.”
'IT STARTED IN THE 90'S AND STILL CONTINUES'
Stating that there is an impact in every sector, Ok said: “Tourism, animal husbandry and agriculture sector were the livelihood of the region because people could not find jobs here, they had to migrate mostly to western metropolises. In other words, this situation is a result of a long-term assimilation policy. We are living in the systematic state of the policy of 'Leave them economically helpless, displace them, send them to other metropolises and assimilate there'. In 2022, with the pandemic and economic crisis, there is a state of collapse in all economic sectors, a state of being in debt, a state of being dependent on loans because people and businesses could not save this day, they had to leave their places for new solutions. The birth rate is very high in our region, but when we look at the population growth rate, it is not at the same level. This is not something unique to 2022. This is a historic policy. An economic and political project is being implemented that aims to ensure that children born here from the 90s do not live in their own culture.”
30 PEOPLE FROM VAN LOST THEIR LIVES IN WORKPLACE HOMICIDE
Stating that the displaced people cannot reach the living conditions befitting human dignity in the places they go, Ok said: “They make these people do the worst jobs in the places they go. These people work unregistered, uninsured and insecure. When we look at the work murders in Van, about 30 construction workers lost their lives in the western metropolises or other cities in the last year, their coffins were brought here. There is an attack on such a right to life. There is a politics that narrows down the living conditions here and does not create living conditions worthy of human dignity in the West. This policy must be dealt with very seriously. It is necessary to keep people here, to make them strong in fields such as business areas, cooperatives and natural sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism, where they can make a living in their own living conditions. In fact, the population needs to be kept in place. This immigration policy is a result of the nation-state policy."