GHENT - In 2014 it will be exactly fifty years ago that the first Turkish labour migrants arrived in Ghent to work in the defunct textile factories. Today, more than 20,000 inhabitants of Ghent (about one in twelve) have their roots in Turkey. How Ghent became a small 'Turkey on the Leie' in half a century is the central question in this book about the people behind those numbers.
How were the migrant workers and their children in Belgium doing? What about the marriage migration in the nineties? And how did the local residents react to all those strange people in the street? What does Ghent have to do with Emirdag and vice versa? 'Turkey on the Lys' offers the reader not only a chronology of the migration, but also an enlightening insight into the way it took place in the twentieth century. With attention to major evolutions, small stories and the people who lived them.
Turkey on the Lys (Lannoo, 2014) was the first book Tina published. It provides a detailed account of the history of the Turkish migration to Ghent (1964-2014). It was groundbreaking for being one of the first books in Belgium to focus on recent migration history. Moreover, the book was critically acclaimed for its 'from below' perspective, being based on over a 100 testimonies.
The book served as a basis for several projects on migration history and heritage in superdiversity in Ghent and Flanders, such as exhibitions and research projects.
Tina has written several other books on migration history. Sadly, none have been translated in English (yet).
BOOK (in Dutch)
- Title: Turkije aan de Leie (Turkey on the Lys)
Subtitle: 50 jaar migratie in Gent
Author: Tina De Gendt
Editor: Lannoo
Date of publication: 15/03/2014
