Proposal of Interviewing Immigants

PROPOSAL of Interviewing Immigrants
made by Huseyin Ozturk and Wolfgang J. Mertens

Frame of Questions :

1) Presentation of Family / presentation of Immigrant himself/herself

- Give a survey of your family in your home country
- Give a portrait of yourself (age, job, education)

2) Procedure of emigrating (where from, why, how, when)

- Where did you live before emigrating
- When did you emigrate ?
- Why did you consider emigrating
- How and why did you choose the new country
- How did you travel ?
- How did you afford paying fort he trip ?
- Did you emigrate alone or with your family ?
- How was the idea of leaving your country considered by your parents (family)
- Did you face any problems when leaving home ?
- How did you imagine life in a new country ?
- How did you prepare yourself ? (language, culture)
- Was it easy or difficult to find a job in a new country?

3) Life in the new country (positive / Negative aspects)

- When did you arrive and what was your situation at the arrival ?
- Did someone come with you on the trip ?
- What did you do when you arrived ?
- Where and how did you live ?
- Did you get any support (government, neighbours, relatives)
- Did you have difficulty in finding a place to live in ?
- How were you accepted at work ?
- Did you know anybody in the new country or not ?
- Did you fave any prejudices by the population of your new country?
- Should you as an immigrant have the same political rights as native citizens ?
- Do immigrants who come from your home country have a good or bad reputation in your host country ?
- Are there a lot of immigrants in your community what is their relationship with you ?
- Did you face problems concerning your religion ?

4) Level of Integration according to himself/herself (Personal Impressions)

- How often do you go back to your home country ?
- Did you find it difficult to integrate in the new country ?
- What were your first impressions at work with your Collegues, with your neighbours ?
- Did you suffer problems because of people’s intolerance ?
- Did you have the same chances as natives ?
- Do you or your children keep your nationality or not ?
- What do you think of intermarriage ?
- How did you bring up your children ? (two cultures, two languages?)
- What is the level of education of your children ? (kindergarten, school, gymnasium)
- Do you believe in a parallel society (you retain your original culture, tradition and languages) or do you believe in a multicultural society where immigrants assimilate ?
- Did you have permanent work or did you depend on state allowances (social help) ?
- Have you become a citizen of the new country ?
- Do you feel part of the society in your new country ?
- Should there be cultural / language tests for immigrants ?
- Are immigration regulations too strict ? In what way should they be changes ?
- What is your contribution to your local community ?
- How is your community incorporating immigrants into the life of community ?
- Which of the two countries do you consider as your home country ?
- Did you have a conflict of identification between two cultures ?
- What is your suggestions for beter integration ?
- Have your diplomas / qualifications been accepted or not in your new country ?

5) Future plans for himself /herself and the children
- Do you intend some later time to return and spend the rest of your life in the country of birth ? (give reasons for your decisions)