{"id":38693,"date":"2011-08-24T22:47:23","date_gmt":"2011-08-24T19:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=38693"},"modified":"2016-12-28T16:07:58","modified_gmt":"2016-12-28T13:07:58","slug":"young-turks-abroad-returning-home-to-chase-economic-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2011\/08\/24\/young-turks-abroad-returning-home-to-chase-economic-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Turks Abroad Returning Home to Chase Economic Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

For decades, thousands of Turks immigrated to the West, in particular Germany, in search of work. Now Turkey\u2019s economic prosperity has young Turks abroad looking homeward.<\/p>\n

\"Growing
Growing racism and continued economic problems in Europe and the United States are prompting many young Turks, from the diaspora and expatriate student populations, to find work in Turkey. A Turkish immigration specialist believes that 8,000 to 10,000 young people with Turkish backgrounds return each year. (Photo: Justin Vela) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the past few years, Ayhan Kaya, an immigration specialist at Istanbul\u2019s Bilgi University, put the annual return rate of young people with Turkish roots at between 8,000 and 10,000. Many, according to Kaya, are fleeing \u201cEuropean economies in turmoil.\u201d Some young Turks also feel alienated in Europe, where economic difficulties have helped feed \u201cracism, xenophobia and Islamophobia,\u201d Kaya noted.<\/p>\n

One such European returnee is 26-year-old Senol Yelen. Born in B\u00fcnde, Germany, to Turkish immigrants, Yelen moved to Izmir earlier this year. With his language skills and knowledge of Europe, it took him only three days to find a job as an export manager at Bambi Mobilya, a company that makes sofas and beds that is looking to expand its European exports. \u201cI have training in Europe. I lived in Europe. I know the German culture and mentality,\u201d Yelen said.<\/p>\n

Yelen prefers life in Turkey. \u201cI see in Turkey big growth. Turkey is a country with many possibilities. Germany is not so good to work and to live in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to research conducted by Faruk \u015een, chairman of the Istanbul-based Turkish-German Education and Scientific Research Foundation, continuing economic uncertainty in Europe and the United States is the major reason why young Turks, whether they are from diaspora communities or are expatriate students, are returning. \u201cThe young people and the academic people come back to Turkey because they see no chance in Europe,\u201d \u015een said. Older people, finding adjustment harder, are less likely to return.<\/p>\n

Onur Kabadayi, 29, is an example of a student expatriate who decided to return. Originally from Ankara, Kabadayi had big dreams when he helped found a web company in Chicago in 2006. He had completed a master\u2019s degree at Northwestern University and stayed on to run the company, Networked Concepts, which created interactive online video products.<\/p>\n

In 2008, the global financial crisis soured investor sentiment. \u201cThe crisis started; the funds were draining,\u201d he said. \u201cWe found some small investment, but never got enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casting about for what to do next, Kabadayi moved to Istanbul to hawk his skills and take advantage of his American education. After four months, he was hired as an Internet product manager at Hurriyet, Turkey\u2019s largest newspaper. Today, he runs Hurriyet\u2019s social media products and manages a team monitoring the country\u2019s blogger community. He is still interested in running his own business, but considers the move a success.<\/p>\n

Not all returnees are making a smooth transition. Born in New York to Turkish immigrants, Ferdi Ferhat \u00d6zsoy, 26, is among those who have struggled to find a full-time job.<\/p>\n

A pivotal moment for \u00d6zsoy came in 2008, when he heard Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan boast of Turkey\u2019s growing prosperity and regional influence during a speech in New York. \u201cHis advice I remember clearly — telling the people to become American citizens, to establish themselves. He said it was good to have a solid Turkish voice in the United States. But he also explained how Turkey had changed. They had brought inflation down, good stuff,\u201d \u00d6zsoy recalled.<\/p>\n

\u00d6zsoy, who had studied to be a history teacher, could not find a job in 2009 in New York. But he had always wanted to live in Istanbul. His family and friends in the United States told him he was \u201ccrazy\u201d for wanting to live in Turkey.<\/p>\n

After returning, he began studying for a master\u2019s degree and found work as a freelance translator. \u201cYou gotta be a hustler to be in Istanbul,\u201d said \u00d6zsoy, speaking in English, his words spiced by a New York accent. A permanent job has been more difficult to find. One interviewer was straightforward enough to tell \u00d6zsoy he was not Turkish enough, that he was too American. Other interviewers expressed disappointment with his resume. \u201cThey wanted to see big names, like Harvard. They say, \u2018Why did you go to Brooklyn College?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the statistics bolster \u00d6zsoy confidence that he will land a permanent job when he receives his graduate degree.<\/p>\n

In May 2011, youth unemployment in Turkey dropped to 17.5 percent compared to 19.8 percent during the same period the previous year, according to TurkStat, the government statistics agency. The official figures additionally show that total unemployment fell to 9.4 percent in May 2011 from 11 percent the previous May. Critics say government unemployment figures under-report the number of people who are out of work. They also accuse the government of carefully crafting Turkey\u2019s economic narrative in ways that conceal warning signs of an overheating economy.<\/p>\n

Despite lingering suspicions, many of \u00d6zsoy\u2019s Turkish friends back in New York are curious about his experience in Turkey and are considering moving themselves. He tells them the key is to have some kind of support. The building his parents built with money saved from working in the United States provides him with a place to live rent-free as he searches for stable work. \u201cWhen we talk about the American dream I think my parents accomplished that,\u201d he said. \u201cThis building proves that. If you don\u2019t have something, it will be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor’s note:<\/p>\n

Justin Vela is a freelance reporter based in Istanbul.<\/p>\n

via Turkey: Young Turks Abroad Returning Home to Chase Economic Dreams | EurasiaNet.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For decades, thousands of Turks immigrated to the West, in particular Germany, in search of work. Now Turkey\u2019s economic prosperity has young Turks abroad looking homeward. Over the past few years, Ayhan Kaya, an immigration specialist at Istanbul\u2019s Bilgi University, put the annual return rate of young people with Turkish roots at between 8,000 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":38695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[846,12],"tags":[2479],"class_list":["post-38693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-germany","tag-turks-in-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}