CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2021
| Author | Gul, Sergen |
|---|---|
| Title | The Impact Of Modernization And Industrialization Policies On The Roma Communities In Turkey: An Environmental Justice Study On The Ergene Basin |
| Summary | This thesis addresses the impacts of the tension between industrial development policies and modernization on the Roma living in the Ergene Basin in Edirne. The biographic narratives of Roma people living in the basin, as well as third-generation Roma-Muslim immigrants who arrived in the region in 1924, assist us to develop a regional vocabulary and comprehensive environmental injustice dynamics. Parliamentary racism toward the Roma, which began with the Iskan law, Turkey's modernizing manifesto, has resulted in two social groups (Roma and non-Roma) with unequal social and political status. Roma who are not considered as a modern nation in the basin, endure pollution, unemployment, and identity challenges caused by dirty industry, irresponsible politicians, and non-Roma local elites. Heavy pollution in the Ergene River's basin, which is home to Turkey's largest Roma population, is not an accident. Lack of social justice in the basin leads to environmental injustice toward the Roma, who are socially and economically disadvantaged and more vulnerable to environmental degradation. Segregation ––imposed by the state on Roma and Roma-Muslim immigrants under Iskan legislation rendered Roma landscapes and Romani identities invisible in the basin. Politicians have not yet devised any strategized to protect Roma people living nearby Turkey's most polluted river. Considering the findings, Turkey's policies of modernization and neoliberal industrialization have resulted in environmental injustice towards the Roma living in the basin in terms of lacked recognition of environmental risk, and unfair distribution of the environmental harm. Furthermore, these policies failed to recognize the socio-cultural differences and needs of Roma people. This study aims to contribute environmental racism theories by demonstrating how lack of social justice may lead to environmental injustice. |
| Supervisor | Sergi Moles |
| Department | Romani Studies Ps |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2021/gul_sergen.pdf |
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