Expatriates voice their own local patriotism
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Sevim Songün
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 25, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Expatriate foreign citizens cannot vote in next Sunday’s local elections, but those in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district have expressed strong interest in how the municipality runs things, saying they have seen a significant improvement in services in recent years.
Alex Waldman, an American photographer, has lived in the historic neighborhood for many years and says he is constantly surprised by the organized confusion that governs the city. "I try to accept Beyoğlu as it is. It is the heart of a terribly confused city," he said. "Despite everything, the fact that it doesn’t explode everyday is good." Waldman said he is happy with the way Beyoğlu sidewalks were redone by the current Justice and Development Party, or AKP, administration. "I also have no complaints regarding the electricity, water or garbage collection."
Waldman acknowledged that Istanbul has very little room to maneuver in terms of urban renewal in its historic neighborhoods. "The infrastructure is workable. If you want to compare it to other places, to almost any European city, you will see that over 3,000 years this city never had the chance to rebuild," he said. "Most of the European cities have been rebuilt because they were destroyed many times."
Another Beyoğlu resident, Gunther Seufert, a journalist writing for Berliner Zeitung, a center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, noted improvements in garbage collection in the area. "I guess in the early 1990s, when I came here, there was a social democrat party mayor in the municipality," he said.
"There really were problems in supplying water to households and collecting garbage from the city," he said.
Traffic congestion and a lack of green space in the city are Seufert’s complaints. He says he has not seen any improvement in those areas because such issues have never figured among the topics discussed during the political parties’ pre-election campaigns.
Waldman agrees with Seufert about the traffic problem, noting the belated expansion of Istanbul’s public-transportation network. But he believes the main problem with the traffic is not the bad roads, but the drivers. "There are too many cars and people do not drive in a controlled way," he said.
While expatriates support the improvements in the city, there are certain things they hope will remain unchanged in order to preserve the neighborhood’s spirit. "Beyoğlu is nice as it is. They can use that money to modernize eastern parts of Turkey," said James Smart, an English teacher living in Beyoğlu. Saying that the local elections and politics are none of his business, Smart said he hoped his neighborhood would not be modernized too much. "There used to be old pavement and trees on İstiklal Street, but unfortunately they redid them in a worse way."
Right to vote for foreigners
Some foreign residents say the inability to vote has given them a sense of estrangement and dampened their enthusiasm for the upcoming elections. Although there are others who say all city residents should have the right to decide who runs the municipality. "Resident-permit holders can vote in England and Ireland," said an Irish man who declined to give his name. "I have no right in the decision process of this country although I’ve lived here for 12 years." He said if he had the right to vote, he would not have cast a ballot for the AKP, as he believes their policies are mainly based on religion.
Waldman acknowledged that Istanbul has very little room to maneuver in terms of urban renewal in its historic neighborhoods. "The infrastructure is workable. If you want to compare it to other places, to almost any European city, you will see that over 3,000 years this city never had the chance to rebuild," he said. "Most of the European cities have been rebuilt because they were destroyed many times."
Another Beyoğlu resident, Gunther Seufert, a journalist writing for Berliner Zeitung, a center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, noted improvements in garbage collection in the area. "I guess in the early 1990s, when I came here, there was a social democrat party mayor in the municipality," he said.
"There really were problems in supplying water to households and collecting garbage from the city," he said.
Traffic congestion and a lack of green space in the city are Seufert’s complaints. He says he has not seen any improvement in those areas because such issues have never figured among the topics discussed during the political parties’ pre-election campaigns.
Waldman agrees with Seufert about the traffic problem, noting the belated expansion of Istanbul’s public-transportation network. But he believes the main problem with the traffic is not the bad roads, but the drivers. "There are too many cars and people do not drive in a controlled way," he said.
While expatriates support the improvements in the city, there are certain things they hope will remain unchanged in order to preserve the neighborhood’s spirit. "Beyoğlu is nice as it is. They can use that money to modernize eastern parts of Turkey," said James Smart, an English teacher living in Beyoğlu. Saying that the local elections and politics are none of his business, Smart said he hoped his neighborhood would not be modernized too much. "There used to be old pavement and trees on İstiklal Street, but unfortunately they redid them in a worse way."
Right to vote for foreigners
Some foreign residents say the inability to vote has given them a sense of estrangement and dampened their enthusiasm for the upcoming elections. Although there are others who say all city residents should have the right to decide who runs the municipality. "Resident-permit holders can vote in England and Ireland," said an Irish man who declined to give his name. "I have no right in the decision process of this country although I’ve lived here for 12 years." He said if he had the right to vote, he would not have cast a ballot for the AKP, as he believes their policies are mainly based on religion.