Dropping the Anchor

They went to France in 70s, some of them legally and others illegally as a fake tourist. They cross the Europe from one end to another just for a new and better life. They have taught to save some money and return back home. At last it was just money for a house, tractor and an automobile. Later on they taught to go back home again. However it was not quite easy, not just for immigrants but also for the country hosting them. Years past by, immigrants got used to live in a small boxy houses, suburbs and to a volunteer banishment. They fall in love, got married, their kids grow old, got into new jobs and got fired. They started new business, bought houses, young girls and boys got married and they also had kids. Those who went back at first started to meet at cafes where mostly retired people would go and those who died, their coffins returned back home. Young ones continue this unexpected journey in France. They feel both Turkish and French at the same time. There are some who cannot even speak their mother tongue and some who only wants to marry with someone from a same village. However they all meet at some point and have something in common; they do not want to have the same difficulty and alienation that others previously faced. They are not just fades or shadows running nervous in the streets. The new generation is fighting in order to show their appearance in public and society at all point. France is now their home too. Immigrants have already anchored at their new home!

“Demir Atanlar” (Dropping the Anchor) telling the stories of Turkish immigrants living in France, is being presented as a collaborative work of Elele Association and French National Office for Immigrations in 2008.