Attitudes toward returning to Bulgaria among emigrants in Turkey depending on their biographical history

Abstract

The article presents the results for the emigrants in Turkey from a survey of the attitudes of Bulgarians living abroad, conducted in 15 countries in order to outline prospects in their intentions to maintain contact and / or return to the country. The research was conducted with a qualitative method - narrative biographical interview, i.e. his idea is that the life stories of emigrants should not be framed by the academic (or political) discourse of researchers. The study involved 10 interviewees who correspond to the main typology that is most common in Turkey - migrants before 1989, after 1989, Bulgarians with mixed marriage or business in Turkey and the so-called. “Constantinople Bulgarians”. The stories confirm the main hypothesis, namely that biographical details determine the difference in the content and emotional load of the assessments on the monitored parameters - identification, motivation for emigration, assessment of the differences between host and country of origin, which in turn affects the readiness to return in Bulgaria. In this case, there is a desire to return to Bulgaria after retirement in some of the groups and many expectations for specific policies to maintain contacts and identity of emigrants.