Oralman
Oralman (Kazakh: Оралмандар), or "returnee", is an official term used by Kazakh authorities to describe ethnic Kazakhs who have immigrated to Kazakhstan since its independence in 1991.[1] Oralman usually come from the neighbouring countries of China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and also from countries with notable Kazakh minorities: Iran (Iranian Kazakhs), Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Distribution
Oralman typically settle in areas of Kazakhstan adjoining or near to their former homes, for reasons of climate and convenience; thus returnees from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are often found in the country's south, while those from China and Mongolia are concentrated in the east.[2] The government prefers to settle them in the north of the country, and offers them more benefits; however, returnees themselves prefer regions where the Russian language is less important in everyday life, particularly in the south.[3]
Language
Oralman often face difficulty integrating into the labour market and with everyday communication due to insufficient command of the Russian language, which remains an important lingua franca in Kazakhstan.[4]
Oralman from China form the majority of teachers of the Chinese language at universities in Kazakhstan.[5]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Kueppers, Alfred (2004-04-22), "Ethnic Kazakhs Find Titular Homeland to be Economic Haven", Eurasianet.org, retrieved 2007-09-19
- ↑ Tan, Vivian (2007-08-09), "After generations away, Kazakhs come home to an independent country", Reuters Alertnet, retrieved 2007-09-19
- ↑ "Special report on ethnic Kazakhs and the struggle to return - Continued", Reuters Alertnet, 2003-09-03, retrieved 2010-06-08
- ↑ UNDP 2006, p. 23
- ↑ Laruelle & Peyrouse 2009, pp. 116–117
References
- Laruelle, Marlène; Peyrouse, Sebastien (2009), "Cross-border Minorities as Cultural and Economic Mediators between China and Central Asia" (PDF), China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, 7 (1): 29–46, ISSN 1653-4212, retrieved 2009-04-17
- Status of Oralmans in Kazakhstan (PDF), Almaty: International Organization for Migration/United Nations Development Programme, 2006
- Genina, Anna (2015). Claiming Ancestral Homelandsː Mongolian Kazakh migration in Inner Asia (PDF) (A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in The University of Michigan).
Further reading
- Diener, Alexander C. (2005), "Problematic Integration of Mongolian-Kazakh Return Migrants in Kazakhstan", Eurasian Geography and Economics, 46 (6): 465–478, doi:10.2747/1538-7216.46.6.465
- Diener, Alexander C. (2009), One Homeland or Two?: The Nationalization and Transnationalization of Mongolia's Kazakhs, Stanford University Press, ISBN 978-0-8047-6191-8