Sensemaking of Civil Unrest by Expatriates in Istanbul, Turkey from May 31, 2014 to July 18, 2014.

摘要

According to the International Organization for Migration, there are approximately 214 million international migrants. These people are asylum seekers, business people, refugees, sojourners, students, and volunteers, who naturally influence the ecosystem of people, communities, organizations, societies, and the environment when they move. This study reviews the process of sensemaking of the 2013 Gezi Park protests in Istanbul, Turkey among 12 foreign-born workers, who were originally from Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, England, Iran, Russia, and Syria. During the protests and unrest, these workers learned about the events through the media, specifically social media at the onset, as well as conversations with friends and colleagues who were Turkish citizens and foreigners. Each foreign-born worker was indirectly and/or directly affected by the protests, and each one took actions as a result of the unrest by changing his/her impressions and/or behaviors, which included deciding whether or not to participate in the protests. These impressions and behaviors varied by gender, age, the type of work he/she performed, his/her years of international work experience, level of acculturation, country of origin, and previous lived experiences with protests, unrest, revolutions, and civil wars. In sum, the unrest in Istanbul, Turkey had direct, indirect, and psychosocial effects on the lived experience of these workers. Therefore, the findings from this study have implications for foreign-born workers and their families, the organizations they work in, culture and adjustment trainers, mental health professionals, and communities.