Refugees who settled in Hatay’s ‘little Afghanistan’ say they are more worried than ever about their immigration status
Destruction in the centre of Hatay, the province where many Afghan families live CREDIT: Stefanie Glinski
The small town of Ovakent in Turkey’s Hatay – one of the provinces worst affected by last month’s devastating earthquakes – has long been referred to as ‘little Afghanistan’ by locals.
Since the 7.8 magnitude quake and several tremors after that killed more than 50,000 people across Turkey – including at least 200 Afghans – most of the houses in Ovakent lie in rubble.
The Afghans who had previously rented them now live in tents; their camp stretching alongside the main road and only highway leading into the Hatay province. And while many Afghans here have, over the years, acquired Turkish citizenship, others say they now worry about their immigration status more than ever.
Still – for better or worse – they are determined to stay in Ovakent.
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