After the screening at the film festival I attended, an interview was held with the director. At the beginning of the interview, some questions were asked to the audience. First, those who came to the country in the last five years were asked to stand up. These questions continued: Those who came in the last two years, those who came in the last year, those who came in the last 6 months, those who came in the last month. It was seen that approximately 80% of the audience had come in the last five years. Four people who had come in the last 10 days were also among the audience.

After taking a general social photo of the people in the movie theater, the conversation started with the following observations. The first stage in immigration psychology is the honeymoon phase. When immigrants arrive, they are full of hope. They believe that everything will go well. This takes about a year. By the end of this stage, they have begun to have an idea and opinion about how their future will be shaped in this country they have just arrived at. He said that it can be said that most of the people currently in this theater have passed this stage.

Moreover, not every immigrant goes through the same processes or faces the same problems. The more differences there are between the country you come from and the country you immigrate to, the more likely problems you will experience. Among these, language and religious differences, ethnic discrimination, cultural loneliness and economic problems come first. Moreover, even the behavior of every city in a country towards newcomers is not the same. Such differences sometimes make adaptation difficult and sometimes easier. But the problems many face are common.

Even the smallest differences can sometimes stress immigrants. The more a person is personally closed to new experiences, the more the differences in the country he goes to affect him. So much so that not only psychological problems but also physical problems may arise depending on eating patterns and daily habits.

The person’s individual characteristics, familiarity with the place he migrates to, and the reason for migration determine the person’s level of ability to cope with difficulties. Individuals who are introverted, socially weak, and not open to development and innovation experience this process very difficult. This adaptation process is easier for people who are social, extroverted and open to innovation.

These negative effects of migration on the person; It can cause serious depression such as crying spells, constant sleepiness, fatigue, and inability to enjoy life. When entering social environments, symptoms such as feeling unwell, sweating, shaking, stuttering, and inability to speak may occur. This can also cause a social phobia over time. This situation also negatively affects relationships within the family.

People’s sense of belonging to the place where they were born, raised and spent their childhood remains strong throughout life. However, staying stuck in the past brings new problems and delays the adaptation process. The feeling of exclusion and loneliness can grow and become a serious problem, affecting future life.

Migration can have devastating effects, especially on children. It may cause problems such as social isolation, introversion, anxiety problems and panic attacks in future life. This loneliness and unhappiness experienced during the development phase can increase the level of anxiety throughout life.

There is a completely different historical reality within this seemingly negative picture. The wealthiest and most successful people of many societies are people who have previously immigrated to that country. The determination and seriousness they show to hold on to life in the country they migrate to makes them successful and carries them to very high levels. People who migrate add fresh dynamism to the society they are integrated into and mobilize the stagnant masses with new energy. Let’s not forget that if people did not have the courage to migrate, neither new countries could be discovered nor the opportunity to know different cultures would be possible. We owe the culturally colorful world we live in to this human mobility.

by Osman Ozsoy