Religious Movements to the Rescue in Transit? Exploring the Role of the Church of Pentecost in the Lives of Ghanaian Immigrants in Istanbul


Abstract


This exploratory article uses qualitative data to critically document how social networks developed around the Church of Pentecost (CoP) Istanbul, and how the ensuing social capital accumulation has somewhat played significant roles in the lives of Ghanaian immigrants in a transit environment, Istanbul (Turkey). The paper argues that with immigrants caught within webs of unreceptive and strict legal environments, socio-economic, moral, psychological, identity, and spiritual struggles in the host country, these Churches, such as the CoP Istanbul, have somewhat become crucial resource pools that immigrants, be they irregular, regular or so-called 'transit migrants' and asylum-seekers, draw on to provide solutions to these quotidian existential problems. The findings documented herein enrich the African Diaspora and religious movements' literature, illuminating how these movements shape immigrants' lives in transit destinations like Turkey.

DOI Code: 10.1285/i20356609v13i2p1208

Keywords: Ghanaian immigrants; Istanbul; religious movements; social networks; transit

References


Adedoyin A. C., C. Bobbie, M. Griffin, O.O. Adedoyin, M. Ahmad, C. Nobles, and K. Neeland (2016), “Religious Coping Strategies Among Traumatized African Refugees in the United States: A Systematic Review”, Social Work and Christianity, 43(1), 95.

Adogame A. (2004), “Engaging the rhetoric of spiritual warfare: the public face of Aladura in Diaspora”, Journal of Religion in Africa, 34(4): 494-522.

Adogame A. (2013), The African Christian Diaspora: New Currents and Emerging Trends in World Christianity, Bloomsbury.

Akcapar S. K. (2009), “Re-Thinking Migrants’ Networks and Social Capital: A Case Study of Iranians in Turkey”, International Migration, 48: 161-196.

Ambrosini M., P. Bonizzoni, and S. D. Molli (2019), “Chiese migranti. Il cristianesimo plurale degli immigrati a Milano,” in M. Ambrosini, P. Naso and C. Paravati (eds.), IL DIO DEI MIGRANTI. Pluralismo, conflitto, integrazione. Il Mulino.

Ambrosini M., P. Bonizzoni, and S. D. Molli (2018), “Immigrati cristiani a Milano: esperienze di partecipazione, aggregazione, integrazione sociale,” Annali di scienze religiose, Turnhout, 2018 (ASR, 11), pp. 113-140.

Borgatti, S.P., A. Mehra, D.J. Brass, and G. Labianca (2009) “Network Analysis in the Social Sciences”, Science, 323(5916): 892-895.

Bourdieu P. (1985), “The forms of capital,” in J.G. Richardson (ed), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, New York: Greenwood, pp. 241–58.

Boyd M. 1989. “Family and personal networks in international migration: Recent developments and new agendas”, International Migration Review 23(3): 638–670.

Brewer K.T., D. Yükseker (2006), A Survey on African Migrants and Asylum Seekers in Istanbul. MiReKoç Research Projects.

Collyer M., H. de Haas (2012), “Developing dynamic categorizations of transit migration”, Population, Space and Place, 18: 468-481.

Daswani G. (2010), “Transformation and migration among members of a Pentecostal Church in Ghana and London”, Journal of Religion in Africa, 40: 442-474.

De Clerck H. M-L. (2013), “Sub-Saharan African Migrants in Turkey: A Case Study on Senegalese Migrants in Istanbul”, Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, Cilt 68, No. 1, 2013, s. 39 – 58.

De Clerck H. M-L. (2015), “Europe is no longer the only ‘El Dorado’ for sub-Saharan Africans: the case of contemporary Senegalese migration to Turkey,” Migration and Development: Routledge, 4(2): 272-290.

Dotsey S. (2017), “International migration and livelihood dynamics during the recent economic crisis: a study of Ghanaian migrants in the Como province, Italy”, Migration and Development,7(1): 104-123.

Dotsey S., A. Lumley-Sapanski (2021), “Temporality, refugees, and housing: the effects of temporary assistance on refugee housing outcomes in Italy”, Cities Journal, 111, 103100.

Düvell F. (2012), “Transit Migration: A Blurred and Politicised Concept”, Population, Space and Place, 18 (4):415 – 427.

Düvell F. (2014), “Turkey’s Transition to an Immigration Country: A Paradigm Shift”, Insight Turkey, 16(4), 87-103.

Fait N. (2013), “African Migrations toward Turkey: Beyond the Stepping Stone”, Ankara Universitesi SBF Dergisi, Cilt 68, (1): 21-38.

Geertz C. (1976), “From the Native’s Point of View: On the Nature of Anthropological Understanding”, in K.H. Basso & H.A. Selby (eds.), Meaning in Anthropology, University of New Mexico Press.

Ghosh P. (2013), As Erdogan meets with Obama, Africans in Turkey Face Racism, Discrimination, International Business Times, May 16.

Gifford P. (2003), Ghana’s new Christianity: Pentecostalism in a globalizing African economy, London: Hurst & Co.

Granovetter M. (1990), The Myth of Social Network Analysis as a Special Method in the Social Sciences. Keynote Address: Sunbelt Social Networks Conference San Diego, February 15, 1990. Retrieved April 19, 2016 (http://www.insna.org/PDF/Keynote/1990.pdf).

Hagan J. and Ebaugh H.R. (2003), “Calling Upon the Sacred: Migrants' Use of Religion in the Migration Process”, International Migration Review, 37(4): 1145-1162.

Hirschman C. (2004), “The role of religion in the origins and adaptation of immigrant groups in the United States”, International Migration Review, 38(3):1206-1233.

IOM. (2020), Turkey — Migrant Presence Monitoring - Situation Report (January 2020). Retrieved February 3, 2020 (https://dtm.iom.int/reports/turkey-—-migrant-presence-monitoring-situation-report-january-2020).

İçduygu, A., D.B. Aksel (2012), Irregular Migration in Turkey. Ankara, IOM.

İçduygu, A. (2003). “Irregular Migration in Turkey.” IOM Migration Research Series, No. 12. Bilkent University, Ankara. IOM.

İçduygu A., K. Biehl (eds. 2009), Managing International Migration: Türkiye-Italia-España (MIUM-TIE), MiReKoç.

İçduygu A. (2004), “From Nation-building to Globalization: An Account of the Past and Present in Recent Urban Studies in Turkey”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 28(4): 941-947.

Koser K. (1997), “Social Networks and the Asylum Cycle: The Case of Iranians in the Netherlands”, International Migration Review, 31(3): 591–611.

Lutterbeck D. (2006), “Policing migration in the Mediterranean”, Mediterranean Politics, 11: 59–82.

Mazzucato, V. (2007), The role of transnational networks and legal status in securing a living: Ghanaian migrants in The Netherlands. ESRC Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. Working Paper No.43, University of Oxford.

Leman J. (2007), “A “Lucan Effect” in the Commitment of Iranian Converts in Transit. The case of the Pentecostal Iranian Enclave in Istanbul”, Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée, 101-114.

Ozcurumez S. and N. Senses (2015), “Rights of irregular migrants: Governing irregular migration in Greece, Spain and Turkey” in A.B.

Karacay, D.S. Sert, and Z.Z. Goker (eds), Waves of Diversity: Socio-political implications of international migration in Turkey, The ISIS Press, Istanbul.

Pathirage J., M. Collyer (2011), “Capitalizing social networks: Sri Lankan migration to Italy”, Ethnography, 12 (3): 315-333.

Poros M. (2011), Migrant Social Networks: Vehicles for Migration, Integration, and Development. Migration Policy Institute. Retrived August 7, 2016 (http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/migrant-social-networks-vehicles-migration-integration-and-development).

Portes A. (1998), “SOCIAL CAPITAL: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology”, Annu. Rev. Sociol., 24:1–24.

Sabar G. (2004), “African Christianity in the Jewish State: adaptation, accommodation and legitimization of migrant workers’ Churches”, Journal of Religion in Africa, 34(4): 407-437.

Şaul M. (2014), “A Different Kargo: Sub-Saharan Migrants in Istanbul and African Commerce”, Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development, 43(1/2/3):143-203.

Schapendonk J. (2013), “From Transit Migrants to Trading Migrants: Development Opportunities for Nigerians in the Transnational Trade Sector of Istanbul”, Sustainability, 2013, 5, 2856-2873.

Schapendonk J. (2014), “What if Networks Move? Dynamic Social Networking in the Context of African Migration to Europe”, Population, Space and Place, 21, 809–819.

Suter B. (2012), Tales of Transit: Sub-Saharan African Migrants’ Experiences in Istanbul, Doctoral Thesis, REMESO, Linköping University and MIM, Malmö University.

The Church of Pentecost. Retrieved December 18, 2017 (http://thecophq.org/international.php?id=5&%C2%A9INTERNATIONAL%20MISSIONS&%C2%A9).

Tolay J. (2012), “Discovering Immigration into Turkey: The Emergence of a Dynamic Field”, International Migration, 53: 57-73.

US Department of State (2004), International Religious Freedom

Report. (2004). Retrieved January 28, 2017 (https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2004/35489.htm).

van Dijk R. (2004), “Negotiating marriage: questions of morality and legitimacy in the Ghanaian Pentecostal Diaspora”, Journal of Religion in Africa, 34(4): 438-467.

van Dijk R. (1997), “From camp to encompassment: discourses of transsubjectivity in the Ghanaian Pentecostal Diaspora”, Journal of Religion in Africa, 27(2): 135-160.

Wasserman S., K. Faust (1994), Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wissink M., V. Mazzucato (2017), “In transit: Changing social networks of sub-Saharan African migrants in Turkey and Greece”, Social Networks, 53:30-41.


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
کاغذ a4
Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.