Tuesday, April 04, 2006
2000 outskirts of Ankara [Urban Anthropologist]
2000 outskirts of Ankara [Urban Anthropologist]
outskirts – peripheral
one or two story garden houses
suburban, rural squatter settlements seasonal changes.
Apartment buildings / “Projects”
Political activity of the residents since 70’s –ish.
Census like demographic study centered on “embedded” neighborhood.
“Head of neighborhood” elected “Bigman” [5 year election term, 2nd term]
Kurdish key informant – muftar? Source of local political power.
Who are “the people”? Looked for other key informants.
social woman – [ice air?] rural migrant
2 religious sects – Sunni Muslim & secular Muslim [Aliveze, 70%, leftist/westernized?]
Who to ask questions? Understand about the two groups & their “feelings” [attitudes, beliefs] about each other.
Stigmatized for being “leftist”.
Sunni majority in country, but minority in this neighborhood.
Muftar: built local library in conjunction with Professor’s help.
country trip – salz [Turkish instrument]. Muftar wants ambulance / healthcare facilities.
local musician. contested identities over political figurehead [founder of Turkish nation] Sunni criticize.
Tea with the ladies – in village like, small community.
tea party – woman gather freely in rural “village”.
Picnic and tea party. We are “modern woman”, can not have to fear men.
Protest:
1970’s settlement emerged.
Oliveze – Shiite Muslim / Turkish version of
Ottoman sultan dynasty v. Iran emperor [Oliveze are Muslim and lost to the emperor]
Fled to mountains to avoid ottoman influence. Isolate lives. 1920’s Turkish nation founded secular non-religion based state. Western hegemony. Oliveze return from exile. Emigrate to Europe, etc. internal migration. Rural migrants join cities. Capitalist v. Communism. Turkey joined capitalism post-WWII. Cold war period. Restructured, modernized, “industrial revolution”…displaced peasantry. Flood city housing market with poor rural migrants who built illegally on public lands. Squatter housing. “They don’t belong here”. 1973 oil crisis – hate the “other”…migrant human rights issues. Communist sympathizers. Pro-union [leftist] second generation => political conflict. Frontlines of the cold war. Ultra-[Sunni]-nationalist vs. leftist =>violent civil war conflict. Community formed out of survivor ability necessity. Illegal squatters can tie together despite their political interests due to common need.
Develop a city plan!
College students gave assistance [leftist].
*LIBERATED TERRITORY*: the state is excluded.
“Progressive territory”: oppressed the Sunni conservatives
Political instability spilling over into street violence.
Politically active. Complete solidarity.
Organized against a nearby garbage dump. Embraced leftist ideology.
Split neighborhood, 1980 political takeover. Dissent suppressed.
Muftar promotes “political action” / progressive “modernization”.
Environmental day: march to the garbage dump. June 2005.
Election victory celebration, civil disobedience against the garbage dump, although poor turnout.
300+ condemned houses because of risk of explosion from garbage dump. Erected barricades against the municipality’s bulldozers. Human right’s issue – can’t demolish a person’s shelter [basic human necessity]. Homes are still there, but still might explode.
Afraid of being politically affiliated
Concern about poverty.
Village associations avoid conflicts of politics. Leaders of village associations – leftists against village associations => found a village association.
“Associations” divide people – we should have a political organization – lack of trust ruins solidarity.
Identity politics, no longer class structured. Interest in their village, not nationalist [still semi-leftist].
Failed military coup scared off political activity. Village orientation identity spread. Young woman can be leaders in the village. In fact, one heads a village association. She limits where men can play cards [Is that all of her influence?].
State sponsored – commoditized / commercialized apartmentalization.
Oliveze/Sunni conflict: mosques? Suppress rebellion by encouraging Islam to score leftists.
Tentative, small mosque. Sunni traditional women. Oppressed by leftist political organization. Oliveze to Sunni: “Don’t cover, go out in public.” Both groups merge in social situations among women. Bread baking, weddings, etc. –neoliberalism policy-
Squatter’s rights = human rights movements.
High rise “urban transformation project”. Capitalist profit motive. Leftist squatter résistance. Mayor came to event. All people came together. Court yard of local school. Imam came even. Displaced, or profit? What’s up? Mayor: token appearance. Demolished? Local grocer – open air market, replaced by commercial grocery chain. Istanbul – westernized. Real estate speculation – suppressed rural migrants.
Muftar may be politically supported, but represents a village community. Motorcades – woman village association leader is rare, but sign of “progressive” nature of the community [modern]. European Union –ish –esque.
Supports Oliveze. Globalization
Urbanized – modern city life contrasted to rural “village” community. Malls & franchise westernized.
What about Sarah?
Modern, but covered [i.e. non-westernized / not commoditized!] – What about Sarah?
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