Alevi Diaspora’s Victimhood and Intergroup Emotions

This chapter discusses the Turkey-originated Alevi community in Australia and examines how the negative experiences of Alevis in Turkey have shaped their identity, sense of collective victimhood, intergroup emotions and relationship with Turkey, and the Turkey-originated diaspora in Australia. Periods of persecution the group has suffered are briefly discussed, along with the ways in which dispersion, oppression and repression have helped shape Alevi identity, culture and religion. A series of semi-structured interview responses of Alevis from Turkey are presented in an analytical exploration of the emotions, intergroup emotions and perceptions of Turkish Alevis living in Melbourne, Australia. The chapter finds that the Alevi diaspora in Australia is bound together by a powerful collective victimhood narrative which shapes their identity and relationships with Turkey and the wider Turkey-originated diaspora in Australia. The long history of persecution suffered by Alevis weigh heavily on the diaspora and leaves them alienated from the majority Sunni Muslim diaspora. Anger, fear, helplessness and anxiety were commonly expressed when discussing the pathways taken by not only the Kemalist regime but also the AKP government.