Germany: Almost Half of Turkish Migrants Want to Leave

Germany: Almost Half of Turkish Migrants Want to Leave

The study also has interesting results about the level of cultural integration among Turkish-Germans. They're more liberal than Turks on every issue, though much more conservative than the Germans.

In a related story: German-born criminal to be deported to Turkey


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This week, results of the first study comparing opinions of Germans, Turks and Turks living in Germany were announced. There were some grounds to celebrate integration but there were also problems. Many immigrants say they feel out of place in both countries, almost half want to return home and Turkish youth are becoming more conservative than their elders.


There are almost three million Turkish people living in Germany and, according to a new study released this week, almost half of them intend to return to Turkey at some stage. And interestingly, more younger Turks want to return to Turkey than their elders.


This is despite the fact that almost two thirds of respondents to the study (61 percent altogether)-- one of the first polls to compare the world views of around a thousand individuals from Turkey, Germany and the Turkish population living in Germany -- had been born in Germany or had been living in the country for over 30 years. Turks are the largest ethnic minority in Germany and make up almost 4 percent of the country's population. Yet only 21 percent of those polled feel happy to call Germany home.


In fact, over half of the Turks living in Germany (62 percent) said that when they are in the country they felt like Turks. But when they were in Turkey they felt like Germans. A significant percentage of the migrants (45 percent) felt that they were not wanted in Germany and only 54 percent believed that Turks and Germans had the same educational opportunities.


The study, which was conducted by Info Research, a company based in Berlin and Liljeberg Research International which is based in Antalya, Turkey, was released on Thursday and questioned interviewees on subjects like politics, morals, relationships and religion. Despite not feeling completely at home in Germany, the answers from the Turkish-German indicated that there was some integration in action. While German respondents were generally more liberal -- in everything from their approval ratings on gay marriage to virgin brides to abortion rights -- and the Turkish respondents were generally less liberal, the Turkish-Germans were somewhere between the two.


For example, most Germans trust their police, their schools and tertiary institutions and German justice. They trust political parties and big business least. And apart from having less trust in the German police and military than their German friends, most Turkish-Germans feel about the same.


The most dramatic differences come in questions related to family life. Only around 10 percent, or less, of Germans believe that a man and woman should not live together before marriage (8 percent), that a woman should not have sex before marriage (7 percent), that a virgin bride is important (6 percent), that bringing up children is women's work (9 percent) and that one's parents should have a say in whom a person marries (5 percent).


On the other hand, the Turkish-Germans and the Turkish are far closer on these matters. Almost half of Turkish-Germans (47 percent) believe that a man and woman should not live together before marriage and over half (67 percent) of Turkish think they shouldn't. Almost half of Turkish-Germans believe a bride should be a virgin (48 percent) and over two thirds of Turks in Turkey (72 percent) agree.


The figures are similar for women being responsbile for children's upbringing (Turkish-German: 32 percent, Turkish: 52 percent) and whether your parents can tell you whom you should be marrying (Turkish-German: 48 percent, Turkish: 68 percent). Abortions and homosexual relationships are still taboo in both of the Turkish populations and in general, the two Turkish populations were also far more religious.


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Source: Spiegel (English)