Migrant Cities: Nicosia, Cyprus

Nicosia City Report(north & south)

Dilek Behcetogullari

Researchers: Olga Demetriou & Mete HatayInternational Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)PRIO Cyprus Centre

Background

Cyprus’ location key to migration flow: easily reachable from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and good connections with Egypt and Greece

Main feature of political map is inter-communal conflict (border set up in current form in 1974 and remained closed until 2003)

Differing economies between the two sides but overall higher living standards compared to non-EU neighbors

Historical overview

Existence of different cultures throughout history (Lusignan, Venetian, Ottoman & British)

Independence in 1960, conflict from 1963, war in 1974, separation and self-declared state in the north

Conflict caused considerable out-migration and large constituencies in Britain and Commonwealth (e.g. Australia)

Current Context

Increase of migration post-1989

Sharp increase post-accession to the EU (on both sides) – south has one of highest percentages of asylum applications in Europe (relative to population)

Pressure in recent years to adopt more stringent human rights standards resulted in review and changes to policy both north and south

Highest migration percentage in north from Turkey; in south from SE Asia, E. Europe, Africa, central Asia

Methodology

Interviews with ten (10) individuals took place in each community (north & south)

Interviews were recorded and took from 30 minutes up to 2 hours

Information supplemented with statistical data

Legal status and relation with authorities: north

Ties to Turkey play a determining role – large proportion of migrants from south and south-east Turkey

Migrants from Turkey comprised of; professionals, manual laborers and students (5 universities)

Manual labor migration strictly regulated since 2005 and there are no enforcement of laws on working hours

Housing for lower-class migrants in old Nicosia is of poor quality: crowded in rundown buildings

Expulsion is often the result of complaining about conditions, so much remains unreported

Legal status and relation with authorities: south

Limited access to public services apart from particular sections

Education the most accessible – multiculturalism in schools dealt with on a superficial level

Non-Greek speaking schools mostly private but minority schools also open to migrant children Social services provision problematic – few migrants can access them (e.g. to receive welfare benefits

Migrant categories receive different types of labor contracts (domestic workers, artistes, unskilled laborers, refugees)

Many undocumented migrants are arrested and held in detention for large periods of time

Social and cultural life: north

Integration is partial, most integrated are professionals Cypriot population view migrants negatively; this is mainly

related to view of Turkey in general References to these migrants in popular discourse have

connotations of having ‘drifted’ to the island without free will, or being culturally distant and backwards

Migrant associations are for Turkish migrants - often religious or defined by place of origin in Turkey

Cultural festivals held and well-attended by local establishments In some respect life in Cyprus is preferred because it has more

right. E.g. female students can wear headscarf at university There is a general lack of awareness of rights

Social and cultural life: south

The presence of migrants seems to be becoming more acceptable overall

Border area is popular with migrants; rent is much cheaper and as an area (Old Nicosia) is neglected

Vast majority of migrants do not have voting rights Contracts for domestic workers disallow unionisation for civil

society formation is not allowed Some social networks are based on religion, others on place of

origin and cultural markers such as food and music Networking with Cypriots is limited, most often focussing on

migrants’ issues Internet and mobile phones provide vital communication

channels with home

Identity and sense of belonging: north

Sense of belonging related to class, education and contact Unskilled laborers have little free time and no extra time to spend

on practices that might facilitate integration Migrants who aim to return soon and buy property back home

also spend most of the time in the house More confusion among youth or long-term immigrants Long-term immigrants (some of whom may have intermarried

with Cypriots) express worry about rising levels of xenophobia At the same time long-term migrants may also express negative

feelings towards more recent arrivals

Identity and sense of belonging: south

Presence in public spaces noticeable because public space hardly used by Cypriots (e.g. public transport, municipal parks)

Cultural festivals are organized but attended mostly by migrant groups, including big annual “Rainbow” festival celebrating the city’s multiculturalism

Little awareness of rights in general, but where this exists, rights can be accessed and this is significant for integration

Media in general presents stereotypical images but xenophobic stance is beginning to be addressed (positive images of migrants becoming more frequent)

Migrants have very limited involvement in public depictions of migration, and not invited to participate in debates on the issues

Indicative quotes: north

“The wages are good but we work 12 or 13, sometimes 14 hours a day, six days a week. We have Sunday off. But we don’t have a vacation, we don’t get time off for holidays” (male, Turkish national, 30 year old, waiter)

“I wish there were a school I would be happy sending my kids to. But they’re not progressive enough and the standards really aren’t high enough. May be my children want to remain in Cyprus, but what if they don’t? They should be prepared for the outside world” (female, returnee from UK, 48 years old, restaurateur)

Indicative quotes: north continued..

“There’s also the same question: Why don’t you like Turks? Hey, I’m also a Turk! It’s not that we don’t like Turkiyeliler, it’s the people from Hatay and Mardin we don’t like” (female, Turkish-Cypriot resident of Nicosia, 28 years old)

“It’s free here. They don’t pay attention to religion and things like that” (female university student from Turkey, on being able to wear the headscarf)

“But here they see us all the same… I’ve actually started feeling Turkish since I came to Cyprus” (female, Kurdish immigrant on having migrated to escape discrimination in Turkey)

Indicative quotes: south

“Once my son came back from school [a state kindergarten] and wanted to kick Turks until they left Cyprus” (male, US national, early 40s, lecturer)

“My welfare benefit is my only source for surviving here now. Now I get 322 CYP a month… I pay 100 CYP for the rent of one room in a house, and then I have other expenses like telephone, and these expenses tend to rise. But before they raised the level, I use to get 200 CYP a month and I really suffered then.” (male, Nepalese, mid-40s, asylum seeker)

“In my previous job [at a family house] I used to finish at 3 or 4pm and go to my room to rest. Now with yayá and papoú [the elderly couple she looks after] there is no such rest.” (female, Sri-Lankan, late 40s, domestic worker)

Indicative quotes: south continued..

“Most of my friends go to the Lodge, or Scorpios, or Blinks because they have special nights for R&B so they go on those nights and have fun… There is one place for eating African food in Nicosia but the person who owns it will close it down, so I am thinking for opening one to offer cheap food.” (female, Cameroonian, early 30s, shop assistant)

“My computer is linked to Nova100 in Melbourne, the radio station that I always listen to, and I keep that just to feel that I am at home, I look at Australian newspapers online daily, in the morning when I come to work, I have Facebook and MSN and Hotmail which I daily use to email and chat with my friends in Australia to the level where spiritually I feel as if I never left.” (male, returnee from Australia, late 20s, programme manager)

Conclusions: north

Political problem a key issue in analyzing problems relating to migration

Because of non-recognition, government in the north has been slow to take responsibility for protecting migrants’ rights (no international scrutiny)

Demography a matter of big debate - closely related to Turkish policy and negatively affecting views of migrants

Ghettoisation of walled city by unskilled, manual laborers from Turkey adds to discrimination issues – often this section taken as representative of ‘immigrants’

Xenophobia recently began to be addressed

Conclusions: south

Migrants face diverse problems and are not included in debates that affect them

Amongst wider population there is lack of awareness regarding what constitutes “racism” and “discrimination” – thus practices that are discriminatory may be institutionalized (e.g. naturalization levels for non- ‘western’ groups very low)

Basic infrastructure absent (e.g. reliable public transport) Education has been the first field where issues are being

addressed Access to welfare extremely problematic Administrative detention also a big area of concern However, worst aspects of racism (e.g. violence against migrant

groups) have not yet been witnessed in southern Nicosia

Recommendations: north

Harmonization of laws with EU norms (e.g. on labor and human rights)

Inclusion of immigrants in unions, or unionization of different sectors

Further research – sectoral analysis (studies of labor) Services to make education more multicultural Stereotyping in media addressed – “peace journalism” can be

extended to include migrant issues

Recommendations: south

Research: extend statistical research to include disaggregated data in all fields, not only migrant-related issues

Ensure protection of human rights of migrants, especially regarding administrative detention, treatment by police, operations of agencies that may be involved in trafficking, treatment by employers

Allow unionization of foreign workers (including domestic laborers) and prioritize needs of vulnerable groups (e.g. women, children, victims of torture)

Steer urban planning policies towards addressing migrant needs: improve public transport, parks, road network, housing in old city

Involve migrants in public debate and urban planning Improve multicultural education and make cultural diversity more

visible (e.g. through festivals) Involve migrant groups in political debate on Cyprus conflict and

in cross-border initiatives