Does Europe wish to win over Turks or lose them?
It has been a few turbulent months for Turks living in various European countries as, time and again, they have become the targets of racist rants and slogans. For decades, the immigrant Turks have played key roles in the development of countries they live in and they have contributed a great deal to these countries' current welfare and prosperity.
Taking on the most difficult tasks for years, they have formed the most hardworking labor force of Europe. They have diligently worked under harsh conditions, to which most Europeans would not condescend.
The old Turkey that sent them to Europe did not take any interest in their lives and since the host countries mostly regarded them as only a workforce, they worked and lived in rather lowly circumstances.
The immigrants managed to offer better life standards to their children, but, not without being subjected to discrimination due to their origin. This fact, unfortunately, has not changed as of yet and their grandchildren are still grappling against the same type of discrimination.
Some European countries offered them good living standards and made it easier for them to acquire citizenship or dual citizenship. They were granted the right to elect and be elected on the local level.
Some countries, however, did not grant such rights and liberties to the Turks. In several countries, including Germany and Austria, the right to elect on a local level, is not granted to Turks, while it is granted to the citizens of other EU countries.
While a Turk, living in Hamburg for 40 years, cannot have a say in local affairs, an Italian, who fairly recently moved to the city, can enjoy the right to elect the local mayor. The host countries have acted very strictly on citizenship issues and even persisted on not granting dual citizenship for years.
Despite all the difficulties, Turks have still managed to form good ties with their host countries. However, they have never forgotten their homeland either where their parents and grandparents were born.
Thus, they have come to have two lands: One where they are originally from, and another where they live and work. They have always endeavored to contribute and remain faithful to both of their lands.
Unfortunately, European countries have always underestimated their value and have kept considering them second-class citizens. After the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power in Turkey in 2002, the government and the then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan placed special emphasis on the condition of Turkish immigrants in Europe.
They corrected the mistakes done by previous Turkish governments and won the favor of the immigrants, whose love for their homeland had never eroded. What could be more natural than that? But, all of a sudden, this situation constitutes a problem in Europe.
On one hand, they speak highly of Germans, who migrated to the U.S. a century ago, for being loyal to their cultures, but on the other, they see the Turks' faithfulness to their own culture as a problem. While U.S. citizens can live freely, without facing any problem, no matter how devoted they are to their origins and culture, Europeans see this diversity as a threat.
Sadly however, many of the host countries, including Germany, are about to lose the love and respect of Turks, since their patriotic sensitivities have been targeted and given the fact the countries have never been successful in fully integrating these immigrants to their society due to their defected cohesion policies.
They gloss over the very fact that European Turks and Muslims, who they look down on by disregarding all EU values, do as a matter of fact belong to Europe. Those attempting to suppress the Turks, due to their political choices or love for Turkey, ignore the fact, that these actions are actually sabotaging the goal of maintaining peace and stability in Europe.
Some of the European countries' recent policies include threats to abolish dual citizenship rights for Turks, political bans on the proponents of President Erdoğan, mobbing imposed on the ones supporting the current policies of Turkey, discussions at schools that can be offensive to Turkish children, barring Turkish ministers from meeting their supporters and employing all kinds of methods to encourage Turkish children and youth to turn their backs on Turkey.
All their attempts are simply odious. Every step taken to encourage hostility against Turkey does actually enhance closer ties between immigrant Turks and Turkey, and decreases their trust and respect for countries they live in, eventually pushing them away from Europe.
Consequently, European countries are losing Turks instead of winning them over. If this is what they are really looking to achieve, then I must admit that they have been very successful so far.
And so, I would like to ask them whether they want to win over or lose the Turks and Turkey. If they really wish to achieve the latter, then it would only prove their unawareness of the fact that they are the ones on the losing side.
Taking on the most difficult tasks for years, they have formed the most hardworking labor force of Europe. They have diligently worked under harsh conditions, to which most Europeans would not condescend.
The old Turkey that sent them to Europe did not take any interest in their lives and since the host countries mostly regarded them as only a workforce, they worked and lived in rather lowly circumstances.
The immigrants managed to offer better life standards to their children, but, not without being subjected to discrimination due to their origin. This fact, unfortunately, has not changed as of yet and their grandchildren are still grappling against the same type of discrimination.
Some European countries offered them good living standards and made it easier for them to acquire citizenship or dual citizenship. They were granted the right to elect and be elected on the local level.
Some countries, however, did not grant such rights and liberties to the Turks. In several countries, including Germany and Austria, the right to elect on a local level, is not granted to Turks, while it is granted to the citizens of other EU countries.
While a Turk, living in Hamburg for 40 years, cannot have a say in local affairs, an Italian, who fairly recently moved to the city, can enjoy the right to elect the local mayor. The host countries have acted very strictly on citizenship issues and even persisted on not granting dual citizenship for years.
Despite all the difficulties, Turks have still managed to form good ties with their host countries. However, they have never forgotten their homeland either where their parents and grandparents were born.
Thus, they have come to have two lands: One where they are originally from, and another where they live and work. They have always endeavored to contribute and remain faithful to both of their lands.
Unfortunately, European countries have always underestimated their value and have kept considering them second-class citizens. After the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power in Turkey in 2002, the government and the then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan placed special emphasis on the condition of Turkish immigrants in Europe.
They corrected the mistakes done by previous Turkish governments and won the favor of the immigrants, whose love for their homeland had never eroded. What could be more natural than that? But, all of a sudden, this situation constitutes a problem in Europe.
On one hand, they speak highly of Germans, who migrated to the U.S. a century ago, for being loyal to their cultures, but on the other, they see the Turks' faithfulness to their own culture as a problem. While U.S. citizens can live freely, without facing any problem, no matter how devoted they are to their origins and culture, Europeans see this diversity as a threat.
Sadly however, many of the host countries, including Germany, are about to lose the love and respect of Turks, since their patriotic sensitivities have been targeted and given the fact the countries have never been successful in fully integrating these immigrants to their society due to their defected cohesion policies.
They gloss over the very fact that European Turks and Muslims, who they look down on by disregarding all EU values, do as a matter of fact belong to Europe. Those attempting to suppress the Turks, due to their political choices or love for Turkey, ignore the fact, that these actions are actually sabotaging the goal of maintaining peace and stability in Europe.
Some of the European countries' recent policies include threats to abolish dual citizenship rights for Turks, political bans on the proponents of President Erdoğan, mobbing imposed on the ones supporting the current policies of Turkey, discussions at schools that can be offensive to Turkish children, barring Turkish ministers from meeting their supporters and employing all kinds of methods to encourage Turkish children and youth to turn their backs on Turkey.
All their attempts are simply odious. Every step taken to encourage hostility against Turkey does actually enhance closer ties between immigrant Turks and Turkey, and decreases their trust and respect for countries they live in, eventually pushing them away from Europe.
Consequently, European countries are losing Turks instead of winning them over. If this is what they are really looking to achieve, then I must admit that they have been very successful so far.
And so, I would like to ask them whether they want to win over or lose the Turks and Turkey. If they really wish to achieve the latter, then it would only prove their unawareness of the fact that they are the ones on the losing side.