Hürriyet Daily News published an article by Yaşar Aydın headlined 'Four myths about German-Turkish migration.' "The migration of Turks from Germany back to Turkey has been getting a lot of attention in the Turkish media. However, on close inspection many of the most popular explanations about it turn out to be myths," the article begins.
According to the author, the first myth is the conception of the increasing emigration of Turks from Germany to Turkey. "This myth arises from the misuse of statistical data. Indeed, the year 2006 marks a turning point in the history of German-Turkish migration. For the first time since the 1980s, the number of Turkish emigrants (33,229) outnumbered the number of Turkish immigrants to Germany (31,449). In 2011, 32,756 Turks left, while 31,021 entered Germany. From 2006 to 2011, annually more Turks left Germany than vice versa. However, this does not mean that we have a heightened return movement," the article reads.
Another myth is that Turks living in Germany are returning to Turkey permanently, the author writes. "The grounds for such false explanations focuses too heavily on migration from Germany and ignores the nature of the continuous migration from Turkey to Germany. In 2010, 30,171 Turks entered Germany, while only 7,456 Turkish citizens received visas for family unions and 2,351 Turkish citizens received student visas for studying. In the same year, only 1,340 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in Germany. Therefore, while 11,000 Turks received a visa or applied for asylum, a total of around 30,000 entered Germany," the article reads.
The idea, according to which the rising Islamophobia is enhancing the emigration of Turks, is also a myth, the author believes. "Islamophobia has indeed been on the increase since Sept. 11, 2001. However, the current migration patterns are not mainly due to Islamophobia or Turkophobia. The increase of Islamophobia does not correlate with a significant increase in the emigration of Turks. After 2011, the number of Turks leaving Germany in the direction of Turkey has even been decreasing."
According to one more myth, discrimination is motivating people to emigrate from Germany, the article reads. "The idea that discrimination motivates people cannot be proved by empirical evidence. There are indeed several surveys indicating that Turks in Germany face discrimination, especially in the labor and housing markets, as well as in the education system. However, there is no evidence suggesting that people who face discrimination are more strongly inclined to emigrate from Germany than people who face less discrimination."
