Abstract

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.