Considering Survival of Unaccompanied Afghan Migrant Children in Beykoz, Karasu Neighborhood with “Migrant Aspirations” Perspective

This article discusses the survival experiences of unaccompanied Afghan migrant minors in Karasu Neighborhood, Beykoz, Istanbul. The qualitative fieldwork of this research was conducted between July 2015 and August 2017, making interviews with Afghan migrant minors and community dwellers. This article is theoretically grounded on the premises of “migrant aspirations” approach. As a new perspective in migration studies, rather than seeing migrants as a part of integration issues, “migrant aspirations” approach proposes considering the migrant as the active subject of migration experience. With that framework, this article proposes considering Afghan migrant minors in Karasu Neighborhood as the active decisionmakers of migration process. Secondly, it considers them as active subjects who make negotiations in order to manage proper social distances in the neighborhood. Lastly, it considers Afghan migrant children as subjects who develop strategies in order to survive in labor market, where they are exploited as unaccompanied child worker