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Ahmadi Y, Sobhani P, Ebrahimi F. (2024). Sociological Analysis of the Social Life of the Marginal Residents of Naysar in the City of Sanandaj: Life on the Path of Suffering. refahj. 24(94), : 9 doi:10.32598/refahj.24.94.4510.1
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URL: http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-4316-en.html
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Extended Abstract
Introduction
Marginalism, or in other words, informal settlement, is a clear example of inequality in enjoying opportunities for a desirable social life and personal and social prosperity in the labyrinth of urban society, and a story of living on the path of suffering and Sisyphean effort to reach the minimum. In Iran, the problem of people being pushed to the outskirts of cities, especially in big cities and provincial capitals, has been getting worse. 6,205,413 people in Iran’s cities, which is about 9.71% of the total urban population, have been identified as marginalized according to the most recent stats. Of course, according to some sources, the number of marginalized people in Iran is much higher, and some sources have even estimated its amount to nineteen million people at the present time (Online Hamshahri Newspaper, 2021). In the province of Kurdistan and specifically in the city of Sanandaj, the expansion and increase in the number and scope of marginalization has been in a very alarming and serious situation in various dimensions. More than half of the 1.6 million people in the province are living on the outskirts of urban areas, according to reports. Sanandaj, being the capital of Kurdistan province, has the most number of poor residents in the province. In fact, it’s three times higher than the average for the country with a poor population. The largest group of poor people, around 120,000 individuals, live in the specific urban area of Naysar, which covers about 400 hectares. Therefore, the current research tries to analyze this issue, the living conditions and the continuity of life of the residents of the marginal areas in Naysar, Sanandaj.
Method
The current research is a qualitative study of the content analysis type with an inductive approach. In the current research, the statistical population included professors and other elites of universities in Sanandaj city as well as marginal citizens in Naysar, and the data collection tool was through semi-structured interviews with the interviewees until reaching theoretical Saturation. Snowball sampling was also used to find samples. Also, in the analysis of the data, the contractual content analysis method was used, and the interviews were conducted word by word every time, and the process of coding, analysis, and determination of categories was carried out.
Findings
While editing and organizing the data, we identified and sorted out 9 main categories, 27 subcategories, and a bunch of individual items. The data collected were categorized into three groups: propositions, major categories, and central/main categories. Some of the main categories with their major categories include; 1. Migration for a better life (Rising demand for fake jobs - Lack of affordable housing - The failed promise of urban development); 2. Urban construction rentier networks (Change of land use - Evasion of the law by marginal residents - Construction of housing away from specialized supervision); 3. Loss of the right to the city (Violation of citizen’s rights - Alienation of non-natives - Worsening the struggle to access city services); 4. Multiple identities (Multiculturalism of the residents - Small-scale groupism - Diversity of the population); 5. Poor urban infrastructure (Weakness of sustainable urban development measures - Low urban services - Inefficiency of urban government programs); 6. Micro-formation of delinquent culture (Naysar as a breeding ground for criminals - Aggravation and proliferation of moral deviations - A decline in the sense of social security); 7. Social stigma towards marginalized groups (The experience of the different views of the surrounding people - The intensification of the feeling of frustration - The representation of Naysar as a garbage dump of the city); 8. Religious fundamentalism (Religious division among the residents - The spread of Salafism - The independence of mosques) and 9. Enhancing peer learning (Showing addiction and alcoholism in the public space - Parents’ concern about the future of their children - Stimulation to the participatory experience of delinquency).
Discussion
The people living on the margins in Naysar go through a lot of tough times - they deal with suffering, poverty, violence, inequality, and the constant feeling of being left behind and ignored. The people in Naysar district see their lives as full of struggles and worries about their future and their children. They think of Naysar as a place where all kinds of trouble, bad behavior, and strange things happen. Agents and officials ignoring Naysar situation for years has almost made it impossible to solve the current crisis. The absence of proper infrastructure in the rural areas of Naysar has made it really difficult to get anything done there. Basically, living in Naysar means dealing with a lot of pain, suffering, and worry about what’s to come. Finally, the situation in the separate urban area of Naysar on the outskirts of Sanandaj city is really worrying for families about their kids’ future. The people living there are going through a lot of pain. On top of that, dealing with land rents and construction permits is making things even more complicated. The lack of effort to fix these issues is just making everything worse. The health situation and access to treatment and health services for the residents in this area are really not good at all. The residents of this area have to often travel to the main part of Sanandaj because there aren’t good medical centers here and the doctors won’t help them out. In terms of having urban facilities and services such as public transportation services, recreational spaces, libraries, sports clubs, swimming pools, playgrounds, etc., it is not suitable. A huge number of teenagers and young people do not have the necessary facilities to spend their time well. Due to the lack of sports spaces and even suitable educational spaces with low cost, many teenagers and young people of this area turn to actions such as street-walking and alley-walking, individual and collective fights and fights, cooperation with petty drug gangs. Believing in fundamentalism, and many other small and big issues.
Ethical considerations
Author’s contributions: Yaghoob Ahmadi contributed in theoretical and methodological part. Parviz Sobhani contributed in theoretical, methodological and analyzing the data and Farhad Ebrahimi contributed in gathering the data and interviews.
Funding: No financial support was received from and institution and organization for the preparation of the paper.
Conflict of interest: There is no conflict of interest among the authors.
Following the ethics of the research: In the paper, all rights related to research ethics have been kept by the authors.
Introduction
Marginalism, or in other words, informal settlement, is a clear example of inequality in enjoying opportunities for a desirable social life and personal and social prosperity in the labyrinth of urban society, and a story of living on the path of suffering and Sisyphean effort to reach the minimum. In Iran, the problem of people being pushed to the outskirts of cities, especially in big cities and provincial capitals, has been getting worse. 6,205,413 people in Iran’s cities, which is about 9.71% of the total urban population, have been identified as marginalized according to the most recent stats. Of course, according to some sources, the number of marginalized people in Iran is much higher, and some sources have even estimated its amount to nineteen million people at the present time (Online Hamshahri Newspaper, 2021). In the province of Kurdistan and specifically in the city of Sanandaj, the expansion and increase in the number and scope of marginalization has been in a very alarming and serious situation in various dimensions. More than half of the 1.6 million people in the province are living on the outskirts of urban areas, according to reports. Sanandaj, being the capital of Kurdistan province, has the most number of poor residents in the province. In fact, it’s three times higher than the average for the country with a poor population. The largest group of poor people, around 120,000 individuals, live in the specific urban area of Naysar, which covers about 400 hectares. Therefore, the current research tries to analyze this issue, the living conditions and the continuity of life of the residents of the marginal areas in Naysar, Sanandaj.
Method
The current research is a qualitative study of the content analysis type with an inductive approach. In the current research, the statistical population included professors and other elites of universities in Sanandaj city as well as marginal citizens in Naysar, and the data collection tool was through semi-structured interviews with the interviewees until reaching theoretical Saturation. Snowball sampling was also used to find samples. Also, in the analysis of the data, the contractual content analysis method was used, and the interviews were conducted word by word every time, and the process of coding, analysis, and determination of categories was carried out.
Findings
While editing and organizing the data, we identified and sorted out 9 main categories, 27 subcategories, and a bunch of individual items. The data collected were categorized into three groups: propositions, major categories, and central/main categories. Some of the main categories with their major categories include; 1. Migration for a better life (Rising demand for fake jobs - Lack of affordable housing - The failed promise of urban development); 2. Urban construction rentier networks (Change of land use - Evasion of the law by marginal residents - Construction of housing away from specialized supervision); 3. Loss of the right to the city (Violation of citizen’s rights - Alienation of non-natives - Worsening the struggle to access city services); 4. Multiple identities (Multiculturalism of the residents - Small-scale groupism - Diversity of the population); 5. Poor urban infrastructure (Weakness of sustainable urban development measures - Low urban services - Inefficiency of urban government programs); 6. Micro-formation of delinquent culture (Naysar as a breeding ground for criminals - Aggravation and proliferation of moral deviations - A decline in the sense of social security); 7. Social stigma towards marginalized groups (The experience of the different views of the surrounding people - The intensification of the feeling of frustration - The representation of Naysar as a garbage dump of the city); 8. Religious fundamentalism (Religious division among the residents - The spread of Salafism - The independence of mosques) and 9. Enhancing peer learning (Showing addiction and alcoholism in the public space - Parents’ concern about the future of their children - Stimulation to the participatory experience of delinquency).
Discussion
The people living on the margins in Naysar go through a lot of tough times - they deal with suffering, poverty, violence, inequality, and the constant feeling of being left behind and ignored. The people in Naysar district see their lives as full of struggles and worries about their future and their children. They think of Naysar as a place where all kinds of trouble, bad behavior, and strange things happen. Agents and officials ignoring Naysar situation for years has almost made it impossible to solve the current crisis. The absence of proper infrastructure in the rural areas of Naysar has made it really difficult to get anything done there. Basically, living in Naysar means dealing with a lot of pain, suffering, and worry about what’s to come. Finally, the situation in the separate urban area of Naysar on the outskirts of Sanandaj city is really worrying for families about their kids’ future. The people living there are going through a lot of pain. On top of that, dealing with land rents and construction permits is making things even more complicated. The lack of effort to fix these issues is just making everything worse. The health situation and access to treatment and health services for the residents in this area are really not good at all. The residents of this area have to often travel to the main part of Sanandaj because there aren’t good medical centers here and the doctors won’t help them out. In terms of having urban facilities and services such as public transportation services, recreational spaces, libraries, sports clubs, swimming pools, playgrounds, etc., it is not suitable. A huge number of teenagers and young people do not have the necessary facilities to spend their time well. Due to the lack of sports spaces and even suitable educational spaces with low cost, many teenagers and young people of this area turn to actions such as street-walking and alley-walking, individual and collective fights and fights, cooperation with petty drug gangs. Believing in fundamentalism, and many other small and big issues.
Ethical considerations
Author’s contributions: Yaghoob Ahmadi contributed in theoretical and methodological part. Parviz Sobhani contributed in theoretical, methodological and analyzing the data and Farhad Ebrahimi contributed in gathering the data and interviews.
Funding: No financial support was received from and institution and organization for the preparation of the paper.
Conflict of interest: There is no conflict of interest among the authors.
Following the ethics of the research: In the paper, all rights related to research ethics have been kept by the authors.
Type of Study: orginal |
Received: 2024/03/3 | Accepted: 2024/07/27 | Published: 2024/10/5
Received: 2024/03/3 | Accepted: 2024/07/27 | Published: 2024/10/5
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