Solidarity networks with migrants in an authoritarian context and urban precarity on the European periphery: The experience of the Mayısta Yaşam Kooperatifi in Tarlabaşı (IUstanbul)

This article analyzes the role of solidarity networks, especially those driven by migrants’ direct involvement, in fostering alternative forms of coexistence in Istanbul’s precarious urban settings. The EU-Turkey statement from March 2016 is a fundamental example of how the securitization of migration in Europe has made Turkey’s role in the European border regime stronger and changed the cities where migrants want to live. The article builds on the idea that borders are decomposed and reproduced within cities. It uses ethnographic research conducted in Tarlabaşı, a central, marginalized area of Istanbul that has been historically marked by displacement, urban transformation, and demographic change. In this urban borderland, undocumented migrants live in unsafe places as grassroots groups set up networks for mutual aid and resistance. The analysis focuses on Maysta Yaşam Kooperatifi (Life in May Cooperative), a solidarity initiative offering Turkish language lessons and after-school activities for children. By emphasizing everyday practices, encounters, and self-organized forms of aid, the cooperative fights racism and exclusion while nurturing an inclusive urban community. These initiatives illuminate the subtle yet significant ways solidarity networks counter authoritarian pressures and reshape urban belonging.