For a traditional mind America is a land of peculiarities. Being an immigrants country, the ancestors of the entire U.S. populations who call themselves today “American” came to this land from another country during the past four centuries. This created a unique phenomenon called the “hyphenated citizen” status. As a result of this reality, today in America almost all the nations have their own communities with their own civic or cultural associations. This means, they are conscious about their heritages, and call themselves “Irish-American”, “Polish-American”, “Italian-American”, etc. Yet, they are no longer Irish, Polish or Italian; they are Americans at the core holding a blood identity with their old countries.
The Turks are among the last that jumped on to the bandwagon. Today, a new breed of Turks is coming of age in America; they are the Turkish-Americans. Like all the other immigrants, the Turkish-Americans too are aware of the double cultural heritages they possess. They have two sets of values, one acquired in this country, and the other infused at home. Yet those values do not clash, they reinforce one another. Reconciling those values harmoniously is the main task of each individual.
Much as the majority of the Turkish-Americans seem to have “made it” in various endeavors, like many immigrants they too have some adjustment problems to work out, like mastering the language, assimilation, entering the main stream as soon as possible, polishing their manners and to conform to social conventions.
Lately, the Turkish-American reality is debated more and more in Turkey. In social gatherings and in newspaper columns the subject is treated from various perspectives. Some call it a brain drain, and some go one step further, and call it lack of patriotism. They lament those pioneers because they feel these Turkish-Americans are losing their traditional values. Yet, those debates do not address the socio-cultural problems of this pioneering generation, nor do they offer a fresh perspective to understand their struggle to make it in a new and complex society. Rather, they provide a forum for some quasi-intellectuals to display a raw chauvinism in blusterous manners. Those armchair patriots titillate the patriotic sentiments of people, which unfortunately resonate in the collective Turkish psyche sometimes unfavorably.
Like most of the other ethnic communities, the Turkish-Americans too are the extension of the old country. As they gain strength rapidly in the United States they become an effective voice for their native land. They enhance the image of Turkey and promote her interests in this country through effective lobbying, media watch and school curriculum campaigns. They create business, trade and tourism potential for Turkey and promote the Turkish culture. Therefore, it is to the benefit of the motherland to have more Turks who are well-adjusted, established and attained status in this country who call themselves “Turkish-American.” This is more beneficial than having individuals with an identity crisis as they are not a part of either world, yet call themselves “Proud Turk!”
Today, certain countries like Greece, Israel, Italy and Armenia draw strength from their diaspora abroad. As the name implies (Diaspora in Greek means:”dispersion”, “sprout” “to sow”) those countries through their well-established communities abroad grow roots in another country and broaden their cultural, economic, political, educational and social bases. All these translate to creating a positive image for the old country and to gain strength.
Very often, in Turkey, people have unrealistic expectations from the Turks living abroad.. They assume that the Turks brought up abroad should have the same values and outlook as the Turks living in Turkey. This is reflected in an article that I came across recently in a Turkish newspaper. The columnist took to task a Turkish adolescent living in a foreign country for adopting a foreign first name. He unfairly labeled this young man as a “lesser Turk!” This rejecting and the exclusive attitudes are moribund, outdated, because it is harmful and unbecoming for a country that claims to be democratic and open to world.
In that regard we have much to learn from other countries. They embrace their diaspora as a strength. America provides us a vivid example as to the spirit of unity. This country is a colorful mosaic of race, religion, culture, language, and heritage; yet, it is a nation in its true sense. Notwithstanding those fundamental differences, each individual calls himself or herself an American. There is a unity of ideals, aspirations and interests; these are what make a society a nation.
Ayhan Ozer – Nation Of Turks
www.nationofturks.com
Ayhan Ozer is an engineer by profession; he holds an MSc degree from the Technical University of Istanbul. He and his family have been living in the United …
Ayhan OZER – The Light Millennium
https://www.lightmillennium.org/biographies/ayhan_ozer.html
Ayhan Ozer, a Turkish-American, and a graduate of the Technical University of Istanbul. He is a linguist specialized in English and Turkish languages. He was …
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Ayhan Ozer
Ayhan Ozer is an engineer by profession; he holds an MSc degree from the Technical University of Istanbul. He and his family have been living in the United States since 1971.
Mr. Ozer has been active in the Turkish cause in a variety of capacities as president, vice president, public relations director, fund raiser, writer and lecturer to name a few.
He and his wife Angul were among the founding members of the Assembly of the Turkish-American Associations (A.T.A.A.) in May 1980 in Washington D.C. At that time he was elected the regional V.P. of the Assembly and worked tirelessly in that capacity until 1986.
His dedication, vision, broad experience and knowledge in issues related to Turkey, and his writings and commentary have always been an asset for the Turkish community. He served twice as the president of T.A.F.S.U.S. (Turkish-American Friendship Society of the United States) in Philadelphia, the Regional P.R. director of the Federation of Turkish-American Associations in New York, and most recently served as the P.R. chairman of the faith-based Turkish cultural organization in Pennsylvania (Turkish-American Muslim Cultural Association).
He served for ten years as the Editorial Page Editor of The Turkish Times published in Washington, D.C., and contributed articles to that publication as a Political Analyst.
He continues writing opinion articles on a regular basis for area newspapers such as Bucks County Courier Times and Asbury Park Press.
He is also a lecturer and a luncheon speaker. His credits in that area include Princeton Rotary Club, Rutgers University, Bucks County Community College and various churches.
Mr. Ozer speaks Turkish and French, and lives in Pennington, New Jersey.
