Meskhetian Turks in Fourth Land: Identity and Socio-economic Integration into American Society


ALPTEKİN M. Y.

Journal of Identity and Migration Studies, vol.8, no.8, pp.47-67, 2014 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 8 Issue: 8
  • Publication Date: 2014
  • Journal Name: Journal of Identity and Migration Studies
  • Page Numbers: pp.47-67
  • Karadeniz Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study examines the socio-cultural life in the new land and integration 
processes into the host community of the 75 Meskhetian Turkish households resettled in 
Denver, Colorado. The traditional homeland of the Meskhetian Turks, as one of the dozens, 
if not hundreds, immigrant communities living the U.S.A., is Akhaltsikhe, a district in the 
region Samtskhe-Javakheti within the borders of the modern-day Georgia. In 1944, the 
Meskhetian Turks were forcibly removed from their homeland and exiled en masse to 
various countries in Central Asia by the Soviet Union. A significant part of those resettled in 
Uzbekistan were transferred to the city of Krasnodar in Russia, after the Ferghana Events of 
1989. In 2004, due to the conditions of resettlement, 12,500 Meskhetian Turks immigrated 
to the U.S, under a refugee program, and dispersed throughout 26 states. Using the 
methods such as surveys, in-depth interviews and participant observation with an 
integrated approach, this study examined the family and community social structure of the 
Meskhetian Turks currently living intensively in Denver, Colorado. The study illustrated their 
cultural aspects, and tried to identify the present day of the process of integration into the 
U.S. society, as well as to envisage the probable future of this integration.