Research on the “State of Armenian Irregular Migrants in Turkey” was conducted by Turkish journalist of Armenian decent <b>Alin Ozinian</b> in Istanbul, Antalya, Trabzon and Ankara through focus groups and in-depth interviews as part of a Eurasia Partnership Foundation project.

In her research, Ozinian concluded that irregular Armenian workers worry about fluctuations in Turkish-Armenian relations because any turn for the worse thrusts them into an unwanted spotlight, and politicians frequently make remarks in this respect, but this situation leaves the humanitarian aspects of the issue out of the account.

The number of irregular Armenian workers in Turkey is not clear; several sources indicate different numbers from 20,000 to 70,000, but a huge majority of them are women who work in domestic service, as baby-sitters and elder caregivers.

The majority of the workers (96 percent) are planning to return after saving enough capital to invest in Armenia, Today’s Zaman reported.