On migrants’ experiences of coloniality in the Turkish prison-industrial complex

Based on anthropological research conducted in Turkey in the second half of 2019, this article examines the intersections of migration, confinement, coloniality, and the Turkish prison-industrial complex (PIC), focusing on the experiences of Latin Americans facing long-lasting imprisonment in a system shaped by neoliberal capitalism and colonialist power structures. This article argues that racialized individuals tend to be commodified within the Turkish PIC, and their labor exploited to reduce prison costs and benefit national and international markets. Even though their work is framed by Law as rehabilitation, a deeper look into prison labor unveils its essence as a profit-making tool that entails hyper-precarious working conditions and lack of fundamental labor rights. In this sense, the PIC can be seen as a site where coloniality is perpetuated, given that racialized bodies are controlled, dominated, and exploited. This study calls for a broader conceptualization of the coloniality embedded in the PIC, urging both academic attention and political action to uphold migrants’ rights and address the systemic inequalities they face. Through this lens, it sheds light on wider sociopolitical implications of migration, confinement, and labor exploitation as systems of oppression which perpetuate colonialist power dynamics that prioritize profit over human dignity.