Savaş ve göçe ilişkin travmatik belleğin işleyiş biçiminin mekansal karşılıkları: İstanbul'daki Suriyeli sığınmacılar üzerinden bir okuma
Spatial considerations of the traumatic memory caused by war and migration: A reading on the Syrian refugees in Istanbul
Yazar: GAMZE KILIÇ
Danışman: DOÇ. DR. FATMA ERKÖK
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü / Mimarlık Ana Bilim Dalı / Mimari Tasarım Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2022
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture
Dizin: Göçler = Migrations ; Mimari tasarım = Architectural design ; Savaş = War ; Sığınmacı = Asylum seeker ; Travmatoloji = Traumatology ; İstanbul = Istanbul

Özet:
İnsanoğlu, deneyimlerini gerçekleştirdiği, çevresini kuşatan ve benliğini saran ortama anlam vermeden, anlam koymadan yaşayamamakta; edilgin olarak kabul etmediği mekanı, değişen gerçeklik yahut öğretilen ortama içkin olarak yorumlayarak kendi yaşantısına yakından tanık olduğu için anlamlı bulmaktadır. Fiziksel mekanı, zihinsel boyutu ile değerlendirerek anlamlandıran birey/toplum, mekana dair geçmiş zamandaki deneyimlerini zihinlerinde yeni olan ile birleştirmekte ve yeniden yorumlamaktadırlar. Bunun neticesinde mekan, tanığı olduğu her deneyime ve o deneyimin bireye/topluma hissettirdiklerine göre sürekli değişip dönüşerek birey ve toplumlar için farklı anlamlar ifade etmektedir. Mekan-toplum sarmalının iç içe geçmiş bir ağ örgüsü olduğunu kabul eden ve mekanın bu ağ örgüsü içerisinden okunmasının mümkün olduğu görüşüne tutunan bu çalışma; mekanın, savaş ve zorunlu göçün neden olduğu travma ile bellek arasında konumlanan yerini sorgulamaktadır. Bu niyetle çalışmada, Suriyeli sığınmacıların, savaş-çatışma ortamı ve göç güzergahından duygusal bir miras olarak taşıdıkları bireysel ve kolektif belleklerinde meydana gelen süreklilik ve kırılmaların, göç sonucunda yerleştikleri yerlerdeki karşılıkları, savaş ve göç sürecindeki yere/mekana ilişkin deneyimleri üzerinden fenomenolojik bir yaklaşımla tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışma, Suriyeli sığınmacıların görünür olduğu kentlerden biri olan İstanbul'da gerçekleştirilmiş ve sığınmacıları travmatik belleklerindeki işleyiş biçiminin mekansal karşılıkları, yine bu kent üzerinde aranmıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, Suriyeli sığınmacılar (çalışma grubu) ve onların mental sağlıklarıyla ilgilenen alanlarında uzman kişilerden (danışma grubu) oluşan iki farklı grupla, yarı yapılandırılmış derinlemesine görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Suriyeli sığınmacıların oluşturduğu çalışma grubu, sığınmacıların ikamet etmeyi yoğun olarak tercih ettiği İstanbul ve Bursa (şimdi orada olup daha önce İstanbul'da yaşamış olan) illerinde, 21-55 yaş aralığında, 6 kadın ve 9 erkek olmak üzere toplam 15 kişi ile yapılan yarı yapılandırılmış mülakat tekniğiyle gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu durum, katılımcıların bireysel göç deneyimlerine özgü soruların geliştirilmesi açısından esneklik tanımış ve mülakatın doğal bir akış içerisinde gerçekleşmesini sağlamıştır. Gerçekleştirilen görüşmeler neticesinde elde edilen veriler ise, tematik analiz yöntemiyle deşifre edilmiştir. Çalışmanın veri analizi aşamasında, verinin kavramsallaştırılmasına ve fenomeni tanımlayabilecek temaları ortaya çıkarılmasına çalışılmıştır. Bu amaçla, Suriyeli sığınmacılarla gerçekleştirilen görüşmelerden hareketle, savaş ve zorunlu göçün Suriyeli sığınmacılar üzerindeki travmatik etkileri, yine onların mekansal deneyimleri üzerinden doğrudan aktarılmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında, katılımcıların belleklerine kazınan travmatik deneyimlerin izleri ile, göç ettikleri fiziksel çevredeki karşılıkları sorgulanmıştır. Bunun için, ilk olarak sığınmacıların göç öncesi, göç süreci ve göç neticesindeki deneyimlerinin aktarıldığı ifadeler, veri setinin deşifre edilmesiyle oluşturulan kodlar ışığında, potansiyel tema başlıkları altında gruplandırılmıştır. Ardından, her bir tema içerisindeki verilerle birlikte değerlendirilerek, tanımlanmış ve adlandırılmıştır. Analizin son aşamasında ise, göç öncesi ve göç sürecine dair elde edilen veriler ışığında oluşturulan travma kaynaklı temaların karşılığının, göç sonucunda yerleşilen yerde olup olmadığına bakılmıştır. Çalışma neticesinde, duygusal travmaların arkalarında kalıcı ve yoğun izler bıraktığı; travma yüklü bu izlerin, travmatize bireyin belleğini etkisi altına alarak hayatının geri kalanına müdahale ettiği görülmektedir. Savaş ve göç travmasına maruz kalan Suriyeli sığınmacıların belleklerinde yer eden travmatik izler bugün hala yerlerini muhafaza etmekte ve sığınmacıların yerleştikleri kent olan İstanbul'da karşılıklarını bularak varlıklarını güçlü bir şekilde hissettirmektedirler. Ayrıca, çalışma kapsamında görüşme yapılan danışma grubunun konuyla ilintili görüş ve düşünceleri, ilk grubun ifadelerini destekler niteliktedir. Yaşananların olumsuz etkilerini hafifletmek ve mağdurları hayata yeniden adapte etmek adına, öncelikle güven ortamının tesis edilmesi gerekmektedir. Özellikle terör ve savaş mağdurlarının kente-kentliye eklemlenme biçimlerinin, rastgele ve doğrudan değil, -mental açıdan kırılgan olan bu grupların hassasiyetleri de göz önünde bulundurularak- kontrol altında ve aşamalı bir şekilde gerçekleştirilmesi gerektiği düşünülmektedir.

Abstract:
People are exposed to traumatic events for a variety of reasons throughout their lives. Traces of trauma are processed in our memory not in the form of verbal narratives about bad events in the past, but in the form of physical sensations during the time of life threat. Even after many years have passed, traces of traumatic experiences engraved in memory and preserved there; Can reactivate and take the person exposed to the experience to what was lived, as a result of a new traumatic experience or through visual, sensory and emotional factors reminiscent of the experience. Space that goes beyond its physical existence and exceeds its meaning; leans its back on the experience, and the traces of the memories engraved in the memory are also encountered among the spatial patterns. This study is about both the traumatic experiences caused by various disasters and the details of the spatial elements that bear the traces of these experiences. Within the scope of the research, it is tried to examine architectural perspectives and re-evaluate these themes through the concept of space by building bridges between themes borrowed from different disciplines such as memory, perception, trauma, forced migration and asylum. In the study, the relationship of the Syrian refugees, who had to migrate to Turkey due to the war and conflict environment in their own country, with the physical environment they left behind and the negativities they experienced during the migration process are discussed on the basis of the trauma-space relationship. For this purpose, in this study, it is tried to determine the spatial equivalents of the continuity and ruptures in the individual and collective memories of the refugees, which they carry as an emotional legacy from Syria, in the places where they settled as a result of migration. For this purpose, the trauma caused by forced migration and the elements of the place and space that carry their marks in the urban space are traced. This study, which accepts that the spiral of space-society is an intertwined mesh and that it is possible to read the space through this mesh; questions the place of space located between the trauma caused by war and forced migration and memory. With this intention, in this study, the responses of the continuity and ruptures in the individual and collective memories of the Syrian refugees, which they carry as an emotional legacy from the war-conflict environment and the migration route, in the places where they settled as a result of migration, will be determined with a phenomenological approach through their experiences of the place / space during the war and migration process has been studied. The study was carried out in Istanbul, one of the cities where Syrian refugees are visible, and the spatial equivalents of the functioning of the refugees in their traumatic memories were sought. The study consists of six chapters. In the first part, where the research and what has been done are explained, the problem is explained in general terms and the purpose of the research is mentioned. In addition, the scope and conceptual framework of the study, general sub-information about the methods used and the resources utilized are also included in the section. After revealing the relationship between the aforementioned concepts, it is tried to establish the relationship of this relationship with space. Here, the concept of memory is discussed in line with the approaches that concern the disciplines of social sciences and architecture. In addition, the physiological process, which is effective in the perception of space, as well as the effect of psychological processes are briefly mentioned. In the third part of the study, the situation of the space positioned between memory and trauma; Under the title of "Trauma-Space", it is examined through examples related to the subject. In this context, since the concepts of trauma, memory and space in the title of the thesis have different meanings in different scientific disciplines such as sociology, psychology, political science and urbanism, it is tried to approach the subject by using a common terminology in order to put it on a solid theoretical ground. For this, the concepts of trauma, memory and space are primarily tried to be given their original meanings; right after this, it has been tried to convey the examples given in relation to the afore mentioned cases in a way that is related to the subject. In the fourth chapter, Forced Migration as a Traumatic Experience and Refugee situations are mentioned. In this section, projections are made on the situation of people who are forced to move or forced to migrate. In this section, concepts such as immigrant, refugee, asylum seeker, which define people who migrate in relation to migration and types of migration, are examined in connection with their legal status and the effects of migration on these people are examined mental effects are mentioned. The fifth part of the study constitutes the original part of the thesis. After the preliminary research, the study, whose structure was created according to the phenomenological research design, mainly deals with the spatial and spatial elements that cling to the traumatic memory of war and migration. In this context, the relationship between the war environment and the trauma caused by forced migration with the space is examined. For this purpose, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with two different groups consisting of Syrian refugees (working group) and experts in their fields (advisory group) dealing with their mental health. The study group formed by the Syrian refugees was conducted with a semi-structured interview technique, which was conducted with a total of 15 people, 6 women and 9 men, aged between 21-55, in the cities of Istanbul and Bursa (who had previously lived in Istanbul), where the refugees mostly prefer to reside. Has been carried out. This situation allowed flexibility in terms of developing questions specific to the individual migration experiences of the participants and allowed the interview to take place in a natural flow. At the same time, a pilot study was conducted with 5 people before the study in order to determine the operability of the questions asked. As a result of the pilot study, it was realized that the same type of questions should not be asked to every participant due to their different characteristics, and that some concepts that were thought to be intelligible did not have equivalents for all participants. For this reason, the way the questions were asked was changed and the data obtained from the pilot study were not included in the study. The consultation group interviewed consists of psychologists and psychiatrists who are experts in their fields, who conduct extensive studies on the mental health implications of the traumatic experiences of asylum seekers before, during, and during the asylum process in the destination countries. In the interviews with the second group, it was tried to establish a relationship between the space and the traumatic memory, and then, how the spatial experiences related to the war and migration process conveyed by the first group should be interpreted. The data obtained as a result of the interviews were deciphered by the thematic analysis method. In the data analysis phase of the study, it was tried to conceptualize the data and reveal the themes that could describe the phenomenon. For this purpose, based on interviews with Syrian refugees, the traumatic effects of war and forced migration on Syrian refugees were directly conveyed through their spatial experiences. Within the scope of the study, the traces of the traumatic experiences engraved in the memories of the participants and their responses in the physical environment they migrated were questioned. For this purpose, firstly, the statements about the experiences of asylum seekers before, during and after migration were grouped under potential themes in the light of the codes created by deciphering the data set. Then, each theme was evaluated together with the data in it, defined and named. In the last stage of the analysis, it was checked whether the themes created in the light of the data obtained before and during the migration process were found in the place settled as a result of migration. As a result of the study, emotional traumas left permanent and intense traces; It is seen that these trauma-laden traces affect the memory of the traumatized individual and interfere with the rest of his life. Traumatic data in the memories of Syrian refugees, who were exposed to the trauma of war and migration, still preserve their place today and make their presence felt strongly by finding their counterparts in Istanbul, the city where the refugees settled. In addition, the related opinions and thoughts of the advisory group interviewed within the scope of the study support the statements of the first group. In order to alleviate the negative effects of the experiences and re-adapt the victims to life, an environment of trust must first be established. In particular, it is thought that the ways of articulating the victims of terrorism and war from city to city should not be done independently and directly, but under control and in a gradual way, taking into account the sensitivities of these mentally fragile groups.