Afro Turks happy with Obama
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 20, 2009 00:00
MUĞLA - Turks of African origin, brought to the country in late Ottoman times to work in cotton and tobacco fields in the western Aegean region, said they were very happy about Barack Obama becoming the new president of the United States.
The local African Turkish community from the Ortaca, Dalaman and Köyceğiz regions of the Aegean province of Muğla met yesterday to celebrate the inauguration of Obama scheduled for today. Africans Support and Cooperation Association Executive Board Member Ali Karakuş, speaking to the Anatolia news agency for the community, said they had established their association a year ago in İzmir in order to unite all Turkish Africans living in the Aegean region.
"We are very happy about a person of African ancestry being elected as the next United States president," he said.
With Obama taking power he hoped the United States would improve its relations with the poor who live all around the world, he said.
He also said he was sure Obama would maintain good relations with Turkey, noting that they would invite Obama to Muğla after his inauguration. "If he comes, we will sacrifice animals in his honor," he said.
Karakuş, who said there were about 20,000 African Turks living in Muğla’s Milas, Ula, Köyceğiz, Ortaca and Dalaman regions, said: "Even though our origins are from Africa, we are proud of being Turkish citizens and of having been brought up in Turkey. Our ancestors fought valiantly in the Independence War (from 1919 to 1923). Our forefathers were brought from Kenya, Somalia, Algiers, Sudan, Egypt and Libya in the mid-18th century. When farms in Dalaman were closed, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey’s founder, gave them land, said Karakuş."Africans taken to Britain and France on slave ships lost their culture but Africans in Turkey lived together and protected their culture," he said.
In Turkish, African or black is used interchangeably with Arab.
The president of the Africans Support and Cooperation Association, Mustafa Alpak, speaking to the Anatolia news agency on the phone, said there was a book about his family history, "Kölelikten Özgürlüğe Arap Kadını Kemale," (From Slavery to Freedom; African Girl Kemale). The state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, or TRT, made a documentary based on the book that was broadcast in 2007, said Alpak. "TRT sent the documentary overseas and the whole world saw how well Africans in Turkey are treated," he said. Alpak said African Turks were very happy about Obama being elected as the U.S. president, adding, "I cannot imagine a single black person who would not be pleased with Obama’s election."
Gürkan Gargın, who works as an entertainer at a hotel in Ortaca said tourists were surprised to see him speak Turkish. When asked about Obama, he said, "I believe Obama is warm and moderate person. In my opinion, he will do more to end war around the world."
Fatma Demir and Gülay Balcı, speaking to Anatolia news agency, said they lived in a traditional Muğla house and were tying to keep their own cultures and traditions alive.
"We are very happy about a person of African ancestry being elected as the next United States president," he said.
With Obama taking power he hoped the United States would improve its relations with the poor who live all around the world, he said.
He also said he was sure Obama would maintain good relations with Turkey, noting that they would invite Obama to Muğla after his inauguration. "If he comes, we will sacrifice animals in his honor," he said.
Karakuş, who said there were about 20,000 African Turks living in Muğla’s Milas, Ula, Köyceğiz, Ortaca and Dalaman regions, said: "Even though our origins are from Africa, we are proud of being Turkish citizens and of having been brought up in Turkey. Our ancestors fought valiantly in the Independence War (from 1919 to 1923). Our forefathers were brought from Kenya, Somalia, Algiers, Sudan, Egypt and Libya in the mid-18th century. When farms in Dalaman were closed, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey’s founder, gave them land, said Karakuş."Africans taken to Britain and France on slave ships lost their culture but Africans in Turkey lived together and protected their culture," he said.
In Turkish, African or black is used interchangeably with Arab.
The president of the Africans Support and Cooperation Association, Mustafa Alpak, speaking to the Anatolia news agency on the phone, said there was a book about his family history, "Kölelikten Özgürlüğe Arap Kadını Kemale," (From Slavery to Freedom; African Girl Kemale). The state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, or TRT, made a documentary based on the book that was broadcast in 2007, said Alpak. "TRT sent the documentary overseas and the whole world saw how well Africans in Turkey are treated," he said. Alpak said African Turks were very happy about Obama being elected as the U.S. president, adding, "I cannot imagine a single black person who would not be pleased with Obama’s election."
Gürkan Gargın, who works as an entertainer at a hotel in Ortaca said tourists were surprised to see him speak Turkish. When asked about Obama, he said, "I believe Obama is warm and moderate person. In my opinion, he will do more to end war around the world."
Fatma Demir and Gülay Balcı, speaking to Anatolia news agency, said they lived in a traditional Muğla house and were tying to keep their own cultures and traditions alive.