The Problem of Migration: Which Way to Take, Who Should We Stand Against?

Oftentimes, instead of going to the root of a problem and tackling it people take side paths associated with it and linger there. They turn a deaf ear to those who tell the truth and go after false heroes.When they come to realise this, a lot of time has been lost and the problem has become more complicated. The issue of global migration is a perfect example, which affects the whole world and rocks Turkey as well.

The immigration problem flares up frequently, and every time the wave of hostility towards immigrants gets higher. The anger caused by increasing social problems and deteriorating living conditions is directed at the weakest link, i.e. immigrants. Politicians who say, “We will send the immigrants back,” are applauded. Some provocateurs who know no bounds in racism and cause strife among peoples are given the right.

Of course, the immigration problem is an important problem with many dimensions. However, the first thing we need to see is:  It is a global problem showing up everywhere! Nobody leaves their birthplace and goes to another country where they do not know the language and culture. While sometimes it is difficult to change the neighbourhood we live in, even the house, imagine that millions of people leave their homes, countries, loved ones and take the risk of death and humiliation and go towards the unknown. Such a decision is not an easy decision to be taken overnight. Factors forcing people to migrate are vital reasons such as unemployment, drought, war, conflict, hunger and poverty. It is the capitalist exploitation system that creates these factors. Today, more than 300 million people around the world live as immigrants outside their country of birth. In Ukraine, where the war began, 6 million people left their country in just three months. The damage and destruction created by the capitalist system is so great that the number of immigrants in the world is increasing day by day irreversibly and will continue!

Turkish society faced the immigration problem mainly in the last 10 years. The reason why millions of Syrian refugees come to Turkey is the Syrian war. It is not the Syrian workers who make this country unliveable, but the Western imperialists and the ruling class in Turkey. It is the current government that talked about praying in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, provoked and spread the war, and caused millions of Syrians to pile up in Turkey. Did those who say that the Syrians should return today, oppose the war policies of the government that day? It is necessary to ask those who want the Syrians to return by saying that the war is over: Is the war really over? Are there conditions for living in a country that has been burned down and whose industry and agriculture have been destroyed? Let’s face it, it is not possible for millions of people to return until the war in Syria is completely over, democratic and economic conditions are established in the country, and safety of life is ensured. Even then, only a small fraction of immigrants will return. Those who emigrate don't come back easily. Because it is not easy for people to destroy their established order and set sail for a new uncertainty. Although they know this fact, those who incite hostility towards immigrants are malicious and seek political profit.

In a country with more than 6 million immigrants, it is unthinkable that the number of unemployed people will not increase, house rents will not skyrocket or cultural problems will not occur. However, it is the immigration policy of the political government and the anti-labour economic policies that make the immigration problem even bigger and more complicated. The government did not take any measures to prevent the great immigration wave from creating chaos. It has not prepared any integration program to eliminate the problems caused by language and cultural differences. It did not prevent the bosses from using refugees as informal and cheap labour. On the contrary, it paved the way. Millions of immigrants are in fact taken hostage in Turkey. Because the government, which does not recognize the rights of refugees, makes an agreement with the EU in return for money and acts as their jailor. Thus, immigrants are used both as a cheap source of exploitation and as a tool of blackmail in international politics.

While the problems brought by immigration are piled on the back of society, the bosses enjoy cheap exploitation. Therefore, workers should not target immigrants, but the bosses who turn the desperation of these people into opportunities and employ them informally and for very low wages. Hostility towards immigrants does not bring anything to the workers, on the contrary, it makes them lose. What we need to do is to oppose the war, the government’s use of immigrants as a means of blackmail, and of course the hypocritical policies of the European imperialists. Immigrants are now a part of the Turkish working class and we have to attract them to our side, organize together in unions, and act together. There is no other way and the workers will eventually realize this!