Cultural Encounters and Adaptation: Social Interaction between Turkish and Syrian Population in Konya

Abstract

Migrants, asylum seekers, or refugees enable different cultures to come together by bringing their own cultural values and social customs to a new environment. While this situation has the potential to enrich the host society culturally, it also brings with it integration problems and social tensions. Therefore, migration management also requires effective guidance and management of cultural interactions. In this context, this study, which analyzes the effects of cultural encounters between the local population and Syrian asylum seekers in the province of Konya on social integration, focuses on social interactions in everyday life. The study examines the perceptions of Turkish and Syrian individuals towards each other through relationship forms such as friendship, neighborliness, and marriage, how these perceptions are reflected in social relationships, and how they shape the integration process. A qualitative research design was adopted in the study, and a phenomenological approach was preferred to explore the participants' individual experiences and the meanings behind these experiences. Social interactions between 20 Turkish and 20 Syrian individuals living in Konya were examined. The findings reveal how mutual perceptions are shaped, the themes through which they are expressed, and the ways in which this process contributes to or hinders social integration.