1 out of 14 million: junior alwaiz
a black immigrant in istanbul: junior alwaiz.
in this modern times, one may only have human rights when he or she is a country’s citizen. this story will tell you the fate of a man’s hopes, anger, happiness or victory.
immigration from western african country of ghana is high due to it’s unstable economy. junior alwaiz who lost his mother at the age of 12 is a man who decided to look for a way to earn his life out of his country. in 2014, junior decided to immigrate turkey after a research on the internet and consulting friends.
junior says he thought “since god created him as a man, if he works and prays hard, one day he could be a rich man.” he moved to a house in istanbul’s tarlabasi neighborhood, where he says he lived with 19 others.
africans coming from same countries choose to live in the same neighborhoods too. ghanian people located mostly in kurtulus neighborhood, nigerians in samatya. they come with a tourist visa and try to find a way to stay after it expires. this causes them to accept illegal acts of their bosses if they are lucky enough to find a job. some work 14 hours a day and cannot get their money in return. junior says he cannot go to the police “i would be the guilty even if i’m right, i’m a foreigner.”
after working at a shopping center for a while and cannot get his salary, junior moves from tarlabasi to hacihusrev neighborhood to live in a warehouse.
he pays 600 turkish liras for this “house.” sheets were hanged to cover the damp on walls and they use a fan for some air since there is not a single window. kitchen and toilet at the same place. luggages are always set and ready to leave. they take care of their looks even though they live in harsh conditions. their suits are hanging on the wall in case of an important meeting, church visit or if they go back to their country.
the immigrants you see in the photos are in germany now, and some returned back to their countries. there was only one woman living there, they called her “sister,” she worked as a masseuse in antalya for a while and came to istanbul to try her luck, now working at a hairdresser, as a manicurist.
young men come turkey with the dream of playing at big football teams. junior now washes car without a salary, he depends on tips which is only enough to pay the rent. he regrets that he did not complete his high school. “you decide where to work if you have had a good education, i will go on studying if i can.”
they cannot get along with the turkish cuisine. junior eats a bread with margarine as drinking instant coffee. rice is their main course, since it is so cheap. they do not eat much, water melon and juice for dinner. Telephones are so important; they use skype to talk their families for hours.
they say it is not possible to socialize with turks. Nobody in the neighborhood they live interacted with them, they hear some calling them “monkey” but never confront. ladies timidly sit next to their seats in buses, or metro. junior says in his hometown there was a street where girls and boys meet very easy. he tried to talk to a girl, but “beaten up and hospitalized in the end.”
junior says he can only interact with children without bias. their neighbor’s 6-years-old son muhammed played with them from the very first day which led muhammed’s family to approach them in the end.
junior returned to his country five months ago, and working for a local politician’s office. he will bring a group of ghanian businessmen to istanbul soon for evaluating trade options.
“there is no racism in turkey” we hear that a lot. “there is nationalism, some extremist groups but not racism.” festus okey murder is a fact, humiliating slogans against the black footballers heard from tribunes are real but there is no racism. racism happens across the ocean according to this perspective. junior must be wrong by saying “ racism is everywhere.”