Posted on 02/21/2004 5:30:47 PM PST by optimistically_conservative
Turkish-Americans yearning for a touch of home can find it in a Norcross office park.
In one suite, they can watch an international soccer game on satellite TV, learn to bake baklava or nurse a cup of thick, mild Turkish coffee.
Next door, possibly the only Turkish grocery in Georgia beckons with a variety of "konservesi" (canned goods) and traditional candies such as Turkish delight, a sugary confection made with an assortment of nuts.
In a cookie-cutter complex off Jimmy Carter and Atlantic boulevards, the Bereket Turkish Grocery Market and the Istanbul Cultural Center are social lifelines for expatriates as well as people interested in the culture.
"It is our duty not only to preserve our culture with Turkish people, but to share our culture as well," said Tahir Duzyol, 26, a Web page designer who opened the market in September.
"What we represent here is our culture," said Duzyol of Roswell, "and our culture is different from other Middle Eastern countries like Iraq and Iran. So we have a big mission."
A network of immigrants are working to bring pockets of Turkish-Americans together socially and to offer activities that pass traditions to young folks. They also want to educate the public about Turkey, and that includes letting people see that not all nations with a Muslim majority support radical Islam.
"People were asking me lots of questions about Turkey at the start of the Iraq war," said Mustafa Basgun, 24, a Norcross resident who volunteers at the center. "I brought them [to the center] and had them watch Turkish movies to change their minds.
"We are at the beginning stages of introducing ourselves to America. We have a lot of work to do."
Turkey is a democratic republic nestled between eastern Europe and Asia. A majority of the nation's 71 million people practice Islam, but the government is secular.
In the United States, sizable Turkish-American communities exist in New York and Chicago. By comparison, Georgia's Turkish population is small. The 2000 census found that of the 423,105 foreign-born residents in the 20-county metro Atlanta area, only 1,381 were from Turkey.
Moreover, the census put the number of Turks statewide at 1,610, though some activists within the Turkish community estimate that between 5,000 and 10,000 live in metro Atlanta. They've made their homes all across the region.
Now their lives can intersect at the cultural center and market. The 7,700-square-foot center offers activities that help preserve the Turkish heritage while promoting the culture to non-Turks.
In short, the year-old complex is becoming the "social center" for the expatriate community, said Necati Sahin, the manager of the complex, who moved to Atlanta at the urging of Turkish friends.
"When I came here 3 1/2 years ago, I saw that the Turkish people didn't come together," said Sahin, 28, of Chamblee. "It has started to change. At least the people in contact with the cultural center are seeing each other more frequently, especially with the activities we offer. They come together."
Duzyol runs an Internet grocery business that bears the same name as the Norcross storefront. He fields electronic orders from customers around the country and stands ready to serve those who wander into the small, tidy storefront for ethnic cheeses and black olives.
"Day by day, it gets better," said Duzyol, who eventually wants to expand the items offered in the 400-square-foot market. "I wanted to start slowly, so we did no advertising in newspapers or anything. I didn't want to be overloaded and not serve the people well."
I think there is a political opportunity for interest groups here that can combine integration of a moderating reformation of Islam with political reach from the US into the Middle East. A reputable counter-CAIR organization.
If they can leverage political pull to gain economic investment, they could become an attractive non-oil based economy and democracy in the region.
They can also exorcise the Ottoman empire spectre. Unfortunately, the Turkish focus on Northern Iraq has prevented them from being seen as a more holistic force for good in the region.
Lacking more of a vision and committment by Turks here and at home, they are missing an opportunity by trying not to make waves. Trying to stay on the Euro-plantation and not be seen as having too much of a stake in reforming the Middle East - other than conflating fears of Kurds - has allowed much of the investment and focus to go to other countries like Qatar and Kuwait.
Turkey is doing some good things with Syria and Isreal, but those are progressing behind the scenes. Not much that Turkey can take credit for. It's almost as if they are betting, or hedging, that the Middle East will - in the end - return to the status quo and they don't want to be seen as having sided with us and been unsuccessful in bringing greater freedom and democracy to their Muslim brothers. The ex-Pat Turks here have not been very vocal on the issues either.
If they can leverage political pull to gain economic investment, they could become an attractive non-oil based economy and democracy in the region.
That is a project on a generational time span.
They can also exorcise the Ottoman empire spectre. Unfortunately, the Turkish focus on Northern Iraq has prevented them from being seen as a more holistic force for good in the region.
Who else is going to protect the Iraqi Turkmen?
Who else is going to protect the Iraqi Turkmen?
Cross border ethnic patronage is very problematic. If Turks see themselves as protectors of Iraqi Turkmen, then can we expect Turkey to allow Kurdistan to be the "foreign" protectors of Kurds in Turkey? Seems a bit hypocritical.
For the same reasons, I'm not a big fan of Mexico seeing themselves of protectors of Mexican immigrants, legal and illegal, in the US.
For the same reasons, I'm not a big fan of Mexico seeing themselves of protectors of Mexican immigrants, legal and illegal, in the US.
Neither am I. Protecting illegal aliens mena Mexico is excercising soverignty over them. It turns this from immigration to invasion.
I did not say it was, but perhaps I should have been clear. It was an easy way to refer to the area in Northern Iraq under Kurdish control. The Kurds in Iraq are refering to the region they control as Kurdistan. Makes little difference if they are a country or a state in a federation, or an autonomous region.
Still wanting Europes embrace...kinda like Israel that way.
They have done well for a collapsed empire.
And.....are a productive people where ever they migrate.
Still..they can go off the lease ..like the Mad Turk episode in M.A.S.H. LOL!
Very proud people..not to mess with.
It can be hard to be a Turk..
A friend who served with a Canadian U.N. blocking force in Cyprus mentioned a meeting ..for just a moment with a Turk at his machine gun placement opposite the Greeks.
A brief chat..a smile.
The next day he noticed the fella he spoke with away..
a day or so later..the guy appears wearing bandages around his head..covering a swollen nose.
The Turk was probably seen by a senior officer chatting..got his face busted up for it.
It would have been what ..if he spoke with a Greek..instead of my Canadian friend.
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