Vol.15(1), pp. 12-23, January-March 2023
DOI: 10.5897/IJSA2022.0964
Article Number: DD7636E70296
ISSN 2006-988x
Copyright © 2023
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
http://www.academicjournals.org/IJSA
International Journal of Sociology and
Anthropology
Full Length Research Paper
Kurdish migration in Hakkâri in 1915 within the context
of constructivism theory
1
Emel TOPÇU
1
* and Engin KORKMAZ
2
1
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Business and Administration, International
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegowina.
2
Department of Banking and Insurance, Çolemerik Vocational School, Hakkari University, Turkey.
Received 15 December, 2022; Accepted 26 January, 2023
The aim of the article is to analyze the Kurdish migration that took place in Hakkâri during the First
World War in the context of constructivism. The main question of the study is: "What is the place of the
Kurdish migration in Hakkâri that took place in 1915 in the memory of those who witnessed that
period?" The study data were obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted in Hakkâri and its
districts, and in the Kurdish Region of Northern Iraq within the framework of this basic question. The
data obtained in the study were collected from the stories that the interviewers heard from their
ancestors. The stories have been transferred from one generation to another and they have reached the
present day. Since this migration includes aspects such as structure-actor, identity, discourse, and
social reality, the analysis of the research data was conducted through constructivism or social
construction theory. As a result of the Nestorian and Kurdish conflicts that took place in Hakkâri in
1915, both groups of people had to say goodbye to their homes and old habits and to migrate.
Especially Russians, who began to occupy the regions such as Van province, caused the Kurds in
Hakkâri to migrate to Iraqi lands. In the study, it was found that the Kurdish migration that took place in
Hakkâri in 1915 caused negative situations such as hunger and misery, and Kurds who could return to
Hakkâri since 1917 tried to hold on to life. As a result, as in every forced migration, social traumas have
been experienced during the migration, which is the subject of this study.
Key words: Hakkâri, World War I, Kurdish, Immigration, Testimony.
INTRODUCTION
1
This study is derived from the doctoral thesis of Engin Korkmaz titled "1914-1924 Yılları Arasında Hakkari’deki Nasturi
Olaylarının Sosyo-politik Analizi" under the consultancy of Prof. Dr. Emel TOPÇU. That thesis concluded on 17.06.2021 at Hasan
Kalyoncu University, Institute of Social Sciences.
1
Orcid No: 0000-0003-4606-5961.
2
Orcid No: 0000262191186.
*Corresponding author. Email: emeltopcu2007@gmail.com.
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License 4.0 International License