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MIGRANTS ARE TRAITORS, REFUGEES POTENTIAL CRIMINALS
Cengiz Aktar
Turkish Daily News, Turkey
Jan 22 2008
An individual shows three likely behaviors in front of institutions
in decline, says Albert O. Hirschman in his "Exit, Voice and Loyalty."
When we apply observations of the American sociologist to eastern
societies we rarely see the second response, Voice. Consent as fate
or Loyalty is most frequently seen in eastern societies. But perhaps
leaving, moving out or Exit is the behavior that hurts the most,
as people do not leave their birthplace for fun. They quit only
under duress; they leave their villages, homes and memories behind,
only in difficult times.
Renowned composer Fazýl Say's voiced consideration about leaving
Turkey, in contrast to many who are of the same opinion yet are keeping
it silent, caused a public stir recently. We, as usual, found ourselves
in the middle of discussions based on cheap nationalism.
But these lands, for centuries and probably since the beginning of
life, have been lands of migration.
Those who come
To begin with, Turkish tribes top the list of people coming to
Anatolia. Later on, during the Ottoman period, Jews who had to escape
from the Spanish reconquista were welcomed. And in the near past,
during the 19th and early 20th centuries, Anatolia became the scene
of migrations on a massive scale. Muslim peoples of the Caucasus
and Crimea sought shelter in the land of the Ottomans due to Russian
pressure and Muslims in newly established nation-states in the Balkans
moved into Anatolia. They came in haste or in an orderly fashion
within agreed population exchanges. In this sense, Anatolia, at least
as much as France, is a "land of asylum." During Nazism in Europe,
Jewish scientists escaping from Austria and Germany were granted the
right of asylum. It is one of the best practices of modern times.
However immigrants and refugees in post-modern Turkey have an extremely
negative image. Worse, they are seen as potential criminals. They are
tolerated as long as they are invisible and the reaction is sheer
indifference when they are drowned in the Aegean Sea while trying
to cross to Greece. And there are many more to come as the number of
illegal migrants in Turkey is estimated to be around 200,000. As for
four million Iraqis who escaped to save their lives, they are not
very welcome in neighboring Turkey.
Those who leave
Those who leave or had to leave are plenty in number. During the 19th
century Ottoman Arabs, Armenians, Greeks and Turks in sizable numbers
moved to America. In early 20th century Anatolian Rum (Greeks with
Turkish citizenship) were part of a population exchange as Armenians
disappeared as a result of forced migration and mass killings. In
the 1960s remaining non-Muslims left again and millions migrated to
Europe as migrant workers. Many Kurds and Turks sought political asylum
following the military coups of 1971 and 1980. And today some are still
thinking of leaving Turkey. Globalization and tremendous progress in
communication and transportation obviously make migration easier.
Artists indeed top the list of globalists, perfectly in line with
the universal nature of the language of art and culture. When Fazýl
Say talks however, look how the country's prime minister reacts:
"Artists of a country do not leave their country. People born in
this country live in this country." These poor remarks could have
otherwise applied to poet Nazým Hikmet and composer Gomidas Vartabed
who had to leave these lands and died away from home in times when
leaving the country was not a common practice!
Every human leaving his/her country is a loss for that country and
everyone coming to a country is a plus for that country. Anatolia
is a land in deficit in terms of human resources as it has lost more
than it has received.
--Boundary_(ID_6i1tR1Ve9Iw9ZmVTPcM/Wg)- -
Cengiz Aktar
Turkish Daily News, Turkey
Jan 22 2008
An individual shows three likely behaviors in front of institutions
in decline, says Albert O. Hirschman in his "Exit, Voice and Loyalty."
When we apply observations of the American sociologist to eastern
societies we rarely see the second response, Voice. Consent as fate
or Loyalty is most frequently seen in eastern societies. But perhaps
leaving, moving out or Exit is the behavior that hurts the most,
as people do not leave their birthplace for fun. They quit only
under duress; they leave their villages, homes and memories behind,
only in difficult times.
Renowned composer Fazýl Say's voiced consideration about leaving
Turkey, in contrast to many who are of the same opinion yet are keeping
it silent, caused a public stir recently. We, as usual, found ourselves
in the middle of discussions based on cheap nationalism.
But these lands, for centuries and probably since the beginning of
life, have been lands of migration.
Those who come
To begin with, Turkish tribes top the list of people coming to
Anatolia. Later on, during the Ottoman period, Jews who had to escape
from the Spanish reconquista were welcomed. And in the near past,
during the 19th and early 20th centuries, Anatolia became the scene
of migrations on a massive scale. Muslim peoples of the Caucasus
and Crimea sought shelter in the land of the Ottomans due to Russian
pressure and Muslims in newly established nation-states in the Balkans
moved into Anatolia. They came in haste or in an orderly fashion
within agreed population exchanges. In this sense, Anatolia, at least
as much as France, is a "land of asylum." During Nazism in Europe,
Jewish scientists escaping from Austria and Germany were granted the
right of asylum. It is one of the best practices of modern times.
However immigrants and refugees in post-modern Turkey have an extremely
negative image. Worse, they are seen as potential criminals. They are
tolerated as long as they are invisible and the reaction is sheer
indifference when they are drowned in the Aegean Sea while trying
to cross to Greece. And there are many more to come as the number of
illegal migrants in Turkey is estimated to be around 200,000. As for
four million Iraqis who escaped to save their lives, they are not
very welcome in neighboring Turkey.
Those who leave
Those who leave or had to leave are plenty in number. During the 19th
century Ottoman Arabs, Armenians, Greeks and Turks in sizable numbers
moved to America. In early 20th century Anatolian Rum (Greeks with
Turkish citizenship) were part of a population exchange as Armenians
disappeared as a result of forced migration and mass killings. In
the 1960s remaining non-Muslims left again and millions migrated to
Europe as migrant workers. Many Kurds and Turks sought political asylum
following the military coups of 1971 and 1980. And today some are still
thinking of leaving Turkey. Globalization and tremendous progress in
communication and transportation obviously make migration easier.
Artists indeed top the list of globalists, perfectly in line with
the universal nature of the language of art and culture. When Fazýl
Say talks however, look how the country's prime minister reacts:
"Artists of a country do not leave their country. People born in
this country live in this country." These poor remarks could have
otherwise applied to poet Nazým Hikmet and composer Gomidas Vartabed
who had to leave these lands and died away from home in times when
leaving the country was not a common practice!
Every human leaving his/her country is a loss for that country and
everyone coming to a country is a plus for that country. Anatolia
is a land in deficit in terms of human resources as it has lost more
than it has received.
--Boundary_(ID_6i1tR1Ve9Iw9ZmVTPcM/Wg)- -