After submitting his text to AyiboPost, Wanderson Jean-Louis was stabbed by a Haitian immigrant and thrown from the eleventh floor of a building in Turkey on January 26, 2024
Turkey seen from the inside by a Haitian immigrant
I was right to leave America to join the European continent. Go on an adventure, travel to better understand how the world works.
Study, learn new things, meet new people, know the political, social, economic reality of this Eastern bloc…
I have lived, spoken, done business and made friends with people from many countries. In Smolensk (Russia). In Istanbul (Türkiye), a city with nearly 16 million inhabitants. A city with many immigrants, bigger than my country.
Wanderson Jean-Louis
Most of my acquaintances are people I met at university, at work, on the street or on the internet. They are Haitian, Arab, Syrian, Pakistani, Palestinian, African immigrant brothers and sisters… Some of them have become friends.
I learned a lot about their cultures, their languages and their stories. Those who come from the Middle East or Africa including Haitian brothers like me are forced to immigrate due to war, political instability. They are fleeing bombs, stray bullets, the cost of living. But they want to live in their countries, they love Haiti.
Wanderson Jean-Louis
An alleviation of the ongoing Turkish economic crisis must involve a diversification of trading partners to reduce economic pressures.
The only means available to the United States to fight Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – ally of Vladimir Putin – is the dollar, which I describe as a “lethal economic weapon”. This weapon has the power to destabilize an economy and an entire country. The power of the 100 dollar bill, now called Yuz Lira in Turkish, is known to everyone. Currently, almost everything is dollarized in Turkey: large companies negotiate in dollars and Turks want to receive their salaries in dollars. Meanwhile, workers, whether they are small-scale Syrian, African or Palestinian immigrants, with or without papers, are paid in local currency. The government regularly adjusts salaries, while inflation continues to rise, leading to higher prices in supermarkets.
Read also: Haitians think they will find an El Dorado in Türkiye. The reality is quite different.
The majority of the Turkish population lives precariously, unable to afford pleasures, and receives salaries in the local currency which is losing its value. This is an alarming observation where dependence on the dollar creates significant economic disparities, affecting the quality of life of the population.
There is also the non-renewal of most residences and the refusal to grant the residence card called “Kimlic” in Turkish.
Many people are forced to live illegally, often because they cannot afford a return plane ticket, given the high cost: around $2,000, including the transit flights involved.
Read also: He spent $5,000 to travel to Türkiye. Today, he cannot afford a return ticket to Haiti.
Commercial flights from Eurasia back to America are expensive. Some prefer not to return directly to Haiti due to gang violence, poverty, political instability. “Tyabouk” in Turkey, what we call work, does not pay enough. Many work hard for twelve hours a day for a pittance. With this salary, you can only pay utilities, rent, eat and drink… then there is nothing left.
I experienced all of this, but I stopped working for almost five months due to the problems of mass arrests and deportations to concentrate on my online platforms and my work as a “Social Media Manager”. I just launched my online eyewear and clothing business, the 111 Glasses Clothes Store.
Read also: The scandal of Haitian minor actors in online “soap operas”
I know everything I say. I lived it and I still live it. I hear about it every day, because I have a few African and Haitian friends who take the risk of continuing to work or who have a residence permit.
I started working in Turkey on January 16, 2023 after leaving Russia.
My employment contract, still in force, stipulated a salary of 6,500 Turkish liras, or 28,000 gourdes.
But my experience has shown me that employers lack respect for workers, especially immigrants. They treat them like nothing.
It is possible to obtain Turkish citizenship by investing and purchasing a significant amount of real estate in the country, usually around $200,000. This gives access to a Turkish passport and certain benefits. Despite this, you will be treated as a foreigner and you will also be called a foreigner by the Turks.
Turkish society is divided on the question of national identity, with some seeking to live exclusively according to their religion and cultures.
The Kemalists, Erdogan’s opponents in recent elections, also share this view on national identity, creating an even deeper divide.
Xenophobia, religious tensions and ideological differences contribute to internal political struggles. Some take different approaches, advocating for integration and regularization of migration.
There are also Turks who want to westernize Turkey, but this will remain difficult to achieve as long as Erdogan retains his presidency and his political influence, focused mainly on religion (Islam) and the issue of immigration.
It is possible to obtain Turkish citizenship by investing and purchasing a significant amount of real estate in the country, usually around $200,000.
When I arrived in 2022, prices were relatively stable. I have seen prices that are considered normal in stores such as “BIM” and supermarkets in Turkey. The people there before me tell me about a time when everything seemed like paradise in Turkey. A friend who has lived here for seven years, with whom I speak daily and with whom I am often, explained to me how different the situation was at that time. Maybe they’re right.
Today, inflation affects every aspect of daily life: wages, the cost of goods, and business.
When wages rise, prices automatically rise, because it’s all part of an integrated process. I had the chance to study this phenomenon during my third year of administration at the Episcopal University of Haiti (BTI) in Les Cayes. Unfortunately, I was unable to complete my four years of study, as I left for Russia the following year, in 2022.
We are in Türkiye – 2021
Previously, a loaf of bread cost only 2 tele, and we had a plate of spaghetti for 5 tele. The particularly lucrative tourism sector allowed citizens to eat, drink, save money, and cover the costs of rent and utilities.
Although conflicts always existed, the dollar issue was not a problem. At that time, one could acquire 100 dollars at advantageous rates, and the dollar did not enjoy the importance it has today. Turkey has always been an important economic and military partner for Russia. The two countries collaborate and trade extensively.
As for the situation of immigrants in Turkey, the State does not seem to have the courage to accept its total failure in terms of migration management and policy.
Immigrants are often forced to flee their countries due to conflicts caused by wars. But the Turkish state, instead of assuming its dubious policies and its shady agreements, sometimes facilitates their entry illegally or facilitates their access sometimes with a simple electronic visa.
When this visa expires, immigrants find themselves in an irregular situation, hampered in their mobility and access to work, because the visa initially granted is generally for tourist purposes of 90 days and does not allow a prolonged stay or work.
This illegality then becomes an instrument in the hands of Erdogan’s government to negotiate with Europe, demanding billions of dollars as well as important political, economic and military agreements for Turkey.
Demonstration against Spain, in September 2022. Photo: Carvens Adelson for AyiboPost
According to Erdogan’s government: “Immigrants are invading Turkey by the millions.” The head of state says he will open the borders with Europe to be able to get rid of them. This is what Europe fears the worst. Also, “Europe regularly provides humanitarian and economic funding to Turkey to be able to provide assistance to these poor people. »
According to the government, the envelope allocated to Turkey to manage the annual volume of migrants is insufficient, although the problem does not really lie in the lack of funds.
In reality, it is more a question of political interests for Erdogan’s government. Immigration is an important weapon, and that is why they are facilitating access and opening their borders to the whole world.
Erdogan’s government finds itself in a situation where it does not have the means to compete with the power of the dollar. The war in the region requires significant investments in weapons, which directly impacts the Turkish people who suffer, particularly due to inflation.
Most migrants who cross borders are often fleeing wars generated by actions of the Turkish government itself.
These observations are from a student who lived in Russia, immigrated to Turkey, and currently lives without papers.
Erdogan’s government finds itself in a situation where it does not have the means to compete with the power of the dollar.
My job is blogging, online management. I make my living with this. And my parents have supported me since Haiti. I have no political affiliation. However, I like the game of world politics, especially in this bloc, Eurasia.
Turkey is a great nation with a rich history and magnificent culture. It is distinguished by its Muslim population and its status as an Islamic nation. Its cities, notably Istanbul, are remarkable with their mosques, their European and Asian side. Istanbul is considered the economic capital of the country.
I live on the European side, but not in the neighborhoods where the so-called “real Turks” live. The “real Turks” who live on the Asian side live in Kadikay and the others in Taxim. There, there are beautiful neighborhoods, universities which provide a more open education from a societal and religious point of view. In these areas, English is crucial to being able to work, especially for foreigners or black people. I have a great friend who works in this area as an English teacher with fake Harvard professor credentials. He is specialized in this field. He works as an English teacher. It also helped me improve my English.
Wanderson Jean-Louis
Esenyurt is the poor part of Istanbul. The Turks consider the g people who live in Esenyurt as funny and weird. They go so far as to advise you to leave Esenyurt. This is the immigrant neighborhood. There are documented and undocumented Africans who work and do business. There are also Arabs, whom most Turks, from what I have observed, do not like very much. I also read in the newspapers that it is because of the wealth of the Arabs compared to the Turks. Others talk about religion. We don’t know who is right or wrong.
I lived in Esenyurt, in Devlet Astane in a residence called “Aktowers” which is considered the city center. Previously, I lived in Kuzu Yolu, one of the most difficult areas of Esenyurt in Istanbul, where there are old houses, not really in good condition, but at good prices, depending on the “Tyabouk”. I lived in a 3+1 apartment there with a few Haitians that I met and who became friends. Later, I moved with one of them to live in the city center, where I am now, in “Aktowers”.
For 2024, I want to continue exploring the world, studying, following my dreams, finding stability, earning as much money as possible and continuing to travel…
It is January 3, 2024. It is currently two in the morning. I’m a bit cold. I spent this day writing this little text. Happy New Year and Happy Birthday to me!
Par Wanderson Jean-Louis, Istanbul, Türkiye.
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