Oral history interview with Ramazan Yiğit, 2018 August 30

This oral history interview with Ramazan Yiğit was conducted by Jessica Pollard on August 30, 2018. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States.

In this interview, Yiğit discusses his family background and early life in Karagoz, Turkey, including his education and herding sheep. He speaks at length about the use of corporal punishment in Turkish schools. He talks about his experiences as a Kurd studying international relations at Gazi University. He describes the increase in anti-Kurdish bigotry leading up to the failed military coup in 2016, and his involvement in Kurdish rights organizations. He talks about participating in an English language program that allowed him to spend a summer in the United States and shares his experiences working in Glacier National Park in Montana. He shares his thoughts about the 2016 attempted coup, talks about the arrests of Kurdish activists in its wake, and shares his reasons for applying for asylum in the U.S. He talks about living and working in Portland, Oregon, while awaiting approval of his asylum application. He discusses his plans to become a clown, and closes the interview by talking about his plans for the future and about adjusting to life in a capitalist economy.