Iranian Refugees in Transit: Exile and the Politics of Survival in Turkey after the 1979 Revolution
Turkey stands at a unique crossroads in global migration, hosting the largest number of refugees in the world while also remaining a country of origin for many. Even though the recent wave of refugees to Turkey is larger in scale and has become a major issue for the country, neither hosting nor producing refugees is new to Turkey’s history.
In Iranian Refugees in Transit, Maral Jefroudi explores the journey of Iranian refugees fleeing in the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, passing through Turkey and eventually settling in Germany and Sweden. Arriving in Turkey—a country reeling from a military coup and entrenched in its own political and ethnic struggles—these refugees became targets of persecution by two authoritarian states while dealing with the everyday challenges of survival.
Grounded in the case of Iranian refugees after 1979, Jefroudi discusses the limitations of the concept of transit migration and the inconsistencies of the asylum regime that has turned to restricting movement rather than providing safety.
Maral Jefroudi is currently the Co-Director of the International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE), Amsterdam. She studied Political Science, Sociology and History in Bogaziçi University, Istanbul and received her PhD from the International Institute of Social History (IISH) and Leiden University in 2017.
When: 14 December 2024, Saturday, 18:00
Where: AKEBI e.V. – Böckhstraße 24, 10967 Berlin
Guest: Maral Jefroudi
Discussant: Nil Mutluer
