Discovering a culture to dissipate prejudices
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Mustafa Oğuz
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 25, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - In a survey carried out to determine the attitudes of university students toward Armenians, it is found that for 44 percent of 3,095 students surveyed the word ’Armenian’ has negative connotations. However, the majority would prefer opportunities to interact more with them
A comprehensive survey on Turkish university students’ perception of Armenians has revealed that while a majority harbor mainly negative feelings toward Armenians, they would welcome an opportunity for greater interaction with them.
"Prejudices against Armenians exist also at the university students’ level. We wanted to pinpoint the reasons by surveying 3,095 students," said Evrim Tan, founder of Turkish University Students’ Perspective, or TÜÖY, the student group that carried out the poll, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
The word "Armenian" had negative connotations for 44 percent of respondents. Moreover, 35 percent preferred to not have an Armenian employer, and almost half of students did not want an Armenian spouse. The political appearance of Armenians was even more problematic, as 54 percent of students said they would not vote for a deputy candidate of Armenian origin and 50 percent said they would not want Armenians to have their own publications.
No common ground
"We think a major reason is the lack of contact with the Armenian culture," Tan said. Despite hundreds of years of co-existence in the Ottoman era, now only 33 percent of students suggested that there were common grounds and proximity between Turkish and Armenian cultures. Contemporary relations are also in a poor stance. Almost 70 percent had never heard the Armenian language being spoken, and only 24 percent said they would welcome an institute for the Armenian language.
"Despite the large number of negative answers regarding Armenians, many interviewees expressed that more studies of a similar type should be carried out," said Mühtan Sağlam, a senior at TOBB and a writer of the survey. The percent of students who would like to participate in joint social activities with Armenian university students was 42, while 38 said they would not want to take part in such activities.
TÜÖY found a chance to share the results of the survey with its Armenian counterparts in Yerevan, during the Armenia-Turkey nongovernmental organizations meeting in March prepared by the Civil Society Development Centre in Turkey in collaboration with Civil Society Institute in Armenia. "Armenian NGO representatives told us that results would be similar in Armenia, if a Turkish perception survey would be carried out," said Ozan Ağabaş, TÜÖY representative for the meeting.
"They know very little about Turkey. Indeed, the most widely recognized Turkish figures are Enver, Celal and Talat pashas according to information we had at the convention," Ağabaş said. The three pashas wielded the power in the Union and Progress Party that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I. They are viewed as the masterminds of the forced migration of Armenians in 1915, which Armenians claim to be genocide.
Not only the results, which will be published as a book, but also the story of the preparation for the survey is revealing of some troubling tendencies still prevalent in Turkey that cause problems for Armenians.
"The survey was preceded by ’Dialogue Camp,’ a large student convention to boost Turkish-Armenian cultural dialogue in Ürgüp last March, but many Armenian youth groups in Istanbul refrained from participating at the last minute as their parents asked them ’not to be seen around too much,’" Tan said. "Nevertheless, we observed that young Armenians in Turkey are way more eager to establish good contacts with Turks."
TÜÖY will step up efforts to remedy what it says are false perceptions, and seek ways to improve the pace of cultural exchanges between Turks and Armenians. "The next step will be to prepare a detailed plan on initiating student exchange programs between university students in Turkey and Armenia," Tan said. "Turkish students may be lodged near Armenian families and vice-versa. The plan will be jointly carried out with our Armenian partners in Yerevan and is scheduled for launch in August 2010," he said.
"Prejudices against Armenians exist also at the university students’ level. We wanted to pinpoint the reasons by surveying 3,095 students," said Evrim Tan, founder of Turkish University Students’ Perspective, or TÜÖY, the student group that carried out the poll, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
The word "Armenian" had negative connotations for 44 percent of respondents. Moreover, 35 percent preferred to not have an Armenian employer, and almost half of students did not want an Armenian spouse. The political appearance of Armenians was even more problematic, as 54 percent of students said they would not vote for a deputy candidate of Armenian origin and 50 percent said they would not want Armenians to have their own publications.
No common ground
"We think a major reason is the lack of contact with the Armenian culture," Tan said. Despite hundreds of years of co-existence in the Ottoman era, now only 33 percent of students suggested that there were common grounds and proximity between Turkish and Armenian cultures. Contemporary relations are also in a poor stance. Almost 70 percent had never heard the Armenian language being spoken, and only 24 percent said they would welcome an institute for the Armenian language.
"Despite the large number of negative answers regarding Armenians, many interviewees expressed that more studies of a similar type should be carried out," said Mühtan Sağlam, a senior at TOBB and a writer of the survey. The percent of students who would like to participate in joint social activities with Armenian university students was 42, while 38 said they would not want to take part in such activities.
TÜÖY found a chance to share the results of the survey with its Armenian counterparts in Yerevan, during the Armenia-Turkey nongovernmental organizations meeting in March prepared by the Civil Society Development Centre in Turkey in collaboration with Civil Society Institute in Armenia. "Armenian NGO representatives told us that results would be similar in Armenia, if a Turkish perception survey would be carried out," said Ozan Ağabaş, TÜÖY representative for the meeting.
"They know very little about Turkey. Indeed, the most widely recognized Turkish figures are Enver, Celal and Talat pashas according to information we had at the convention," Ağabaş said. The three pashas wielded the power in the Union and Progress Party that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I. They are viewed as the masterminds of the forced migration of Armenians in 1915, which Armenians claim to be genocide.
Not only the results, which will be published as a book, but also the story of the preparation for the survey is revealing of some troubling tendencies still prevalent in Turkey that cause problems for Armenians.
"The survey was preceded by ’Dialogue Camp,’ a large student convention to boost Turkish-Armenian cultural dialogue in Ürgüp last March, but many Armenian youth groups in Istanbul refrained from participating at the last minute as their parents asked them ’not to be seen around too much,’" Tan said. "Nevertheless, we observed that young Armenians in Turkey are way more eager to establish good contacts with Turks."
TÜÖY will step up efforts to remedy what it says are false perceptions, and seek ways to improve the pace of cultural exchanges between Turks and Armenians. "The next step will be to prepare a detailed plan on initiating student exchange programs between university students in Turkey and Armenia," Tan said. "Turkish students may be lodged near Armenian families and vice-versa. The plan will be jointly carried out with our Armenian partners in Yerevan and is scheduled for launch in August 2010," he said.