"No one-man business" - On a young Kurd without final school exams from a traditional Turkish immigrant family who sees his life as the "jackpot"

Abstract

This contribution is based on non-standardized interviews with a young Kurd (24 years old) which were evaluated using the method of objective hermeneutics. What is presented is his childhood and youth, both marked by the flight of his parents to Germany. After he had left lower secondary school (Hauptschule) without gaining any certificates and had now and then drifted into a criminal environment, he worked as an unskilled worker. Now as a young adult, he is participating in training to become a building cleaner. He married as early as 19 and is the father of two sons. The excerpts of the interview revolve around his attitude to work, his relationship to his grandparents, his marriage and starting of a family, as well as his attitude to the gainful employment of women. The authors see it as a particular achievement of the young Kurd that he has been able to reconcile traditions with modern life. Despite initial difficulties, he now has his sights set on a vocational qualification. However, he sees his vocational work merely as a means to securing a living and, apart from this, wishes to get through life 'as comfortably as possible'. All in all, he is satisfied with his life up to now and terms it 'a jackpot'. (IAB)

Cite article

Franzmann, M. & Jung, M. (2012): "Nix Isch-AG " - Über einen jungen Kurden ohne Schulabschluss aus einer traditionalen türkischen Einwandererfamilie, der sein Leben als "Jackpot" begreift. In: J. Mansel & C. Speck (Hrsg.) (2012): Jugend und Arbeit : empirische Bestandsaufnahmen und Analysen, p. 119-134.