Africans in Turkey

Since the end of 1990s the number of people with roots from Africa has grown considerably in Turkey due to immigration. The modern immigrant community is comрrised mostly of immigrants and refugees from Ghana, Ethiopia, DRC, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Eritrea, Somalia and Senegal.[1] Most of the African immigrants in Turkey come to Turkey to further migrate to Europe, but due to the tightening of immigration policy of both Turkey and EU most of the immigrants now migrate to Turkey to stay.[2] Immigrants from Eastern Africa are usually refugees, meanwhile Western and Central African immigration is reported to be economically driven.[1] The migration pattern of the latter group is being described as a middle class movement of white collar workers and urban traders who want to improve their economical conditions.[3]

According to state-owned TRT Haber there are 100,000 Africans in Turkey as of 2021 and around 70% of them are located in Istanbul.[4] Other studies state the majority of Africans in Turkey lives in Istanbul and report Tarlabaşı, Dolapdere, Kumkapı, Yenikapı and Kurtuluş as having a strong African presence.[1] Estimates of the number of Africans living in Istanbul varies between 50,000 and 200,000.[5] Ankara also has a sizeable Somali community.[6] Al-Monitor, citing Turkish Statistical Institute’s figures, reported that there were 5,045 Nigerians, 1,357 Senegalese and 1,001 Ghanaians living with work and residence permits in Turkey, though it was also stated that tens of thousand of immigrants from West and Central African countries who were living on long-term tourist visas were not counted.[7] Mahir Şaul, a Turkish anthropologist and professor at the University of Illinois estimated that at least 50,000 African migrants live in Turkey as of 2016, mostly in Istanbul and about one-third of them are from sub-Saharan Africa.[8] Şaul estimated there were more than 150,000 Sub-Saharan African migrants in Turkey in 2018 and the Senegalese and Nigerian migrants were the biggest groups.[9]

An Ugandan pastor living in Istanbul since 2013 has stated that underground house churches function both as a place of worship and a rehabilitation center for the African Christian community. The pastor asserted that the church he has been pastoring to was attacked many times within 2 years and expressed concern for the future of the establishment. Muslim African migrants such as those from Senegal usually gather on Thursday nights to read prayers, listen to each other’s problems and try to support one another.[10] The vast majority of Afro-Turks are Muslim.

In İzmir Calf Festival (Turkish: Dana Bayramı) has been annually observed to celebrate African heritage since 2007. The celebration, in which originally a decorated calf was paraded around, collecting donations and well wishes for spring was originated from the late 19th century culture of the African slave community in the Ottoman Empire, but later banned in early 20th century due to the Atatürk's secularist reforms against non-state-controlled religious institutions and superstitious practices such as Calf Festival with its trace remnants of African tribal practices. This led to the extinction of celebrations in the 1960s, but in 2007 Dana Bayramı was revitalized as an international celebration by the founder of Afro-Turk Foundation Mustafa Olpak and presently observed by Afro-Turks, other people of African descent such as recent migrants and non-African İzmir locals. Older Afro-Turks are reported to be not interested in Calf Festival celebrations.[11][12]

Modern celebrations were described as a form of entertainment rather than being an attempt to accurately replicate a largely forgotten tradition. Contemporary Calf Festival incorporates elements from all around the continent such as the use of traditional African masks and the dance performances of Burundian and Malian students and is not being confined to the culture of Afro-Turks or Zanj people.[13]