NYC NOW - May 25, 2023: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: May 25, 2023

New York and New Jersey are home to the largest Turkish communities in the U-S. This Sunday, Turks will vote in a runoff election between sitting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu. To get a sense of how Turks in the region are feeling about this important political moment, WNYC’s Janae Pierre talked with Hafza Girdap, director of the group Advocates of Silenced Turkey.

Good evening and welcome to NYC Now. I'm Jene Pierre for WNYC. New York and New Jersey are home to the largest Turkish communities in the U.S., and many are closely watching the presidential election back home. On Sunday, millions of Turks will vote in a runoff election between sitting President Raseb Tayyip Erdogan and his opponent Kamal Khalish Darulu. Erdogan has ruled Turkey for two decades in an increasingly populous and authoritarian style. But a recent economic crisis and a devastating earthquake have made him vulnerable.

To get a sense of how Turks in this region are feeling about this important political moment, we're joined by Hofzegerdap, director of the group Advocates of Silence Turkey. She's lived as an asylum seeker in the U.S. for seven years and is currently a PhD candidate at Stony Brook University. That conversation after the break. How are Turkish communities in New York and New Jersey reacting and feeling about this historic runoff coming up on May 28th? It's been a very harsh time period in Turkey in terms of economy, in terms of human rights and democracy. People here in diaspora are really concerned about the ongoing situation in Turkey. So they want to change.

And there was a really big increase in warning here, turnout here in the United States as far as I know, even though there are really restricted polling stations in the area. So I can say that people want to change. Let's talk a little bit more about the polling stations in the area. I understand that there was some stress and anxiety that folks are experiencing as they attempt to get their ballots into Turkey. Yeah. There are concerns and hesitations at the same time in terms of going to the polling stations.

People have to travel for 500 miles, even 1,000 miles. to be able to go and walk in California and in New York too, because there are restricted number of councilates and, you know, embassies in the United States. So people have to travel. This is hard in terms of financial issues, in terms of, you know, working conditions. And on the other hand, there are lots of dissidents here who have some fear of going to the consulates, even to vote because of the abduction cases around the world. You know, we've encountered some challenges trying to get people from the Turkish community to speak on the record about the election. Why might that be? Because dissidents all around the world,

including the United States, are being tracked down and targeted by the government. There is an unofficial surveillance in our community to hear. By unofficial surveillance, I mean some pro-government people who are in the Turkish community are tracking people like me, where they are living, what they are doing. And it's a bit scary for the people who have families back in Turkey too or who have businesses that they are doing with Turkey. So they don't want to be seen. They don't want to be known by the government. They don't want to be tracked down. I'm wondering, what are you hearing from either friends or family back home in Turkey?

Including my family, families back there are, of course, scared because if the government cannot find the people who they want to arrest, they sometimes go to arrest or detain. the family members to trigger the dissidents abroad to come to the country. Of course, they are scared. And on the other hand, they are missing their families. We have family there that we haven't seen for seven years. There are lots of people in the Turkish community here who are in the same condition. So these elections play a huge role. If there is a change, it means that we can travel, even though it's not in the United States, if they cannot get visas somewhere in Europe, where there are no visas requirements. But I have a fear to travel right now.

I don't feel secure. We're going to take a break here. We'll be right back with Offsa Girdap, director of the group Advocates of Silence Turkey. Talk a bit more about your fears. I'm interested in knowing what your day-to-day life looks like. So I'm on social media. I'm on TV.

It means that I'm seen on public here. So my name, my face is all over the place. And because of this reason, the president just filed two cases against me. And I was put on a list, government's wanted list, which makes me, you know, a solid target here. Our organization's president was harassed in front of his house. So I don't want to be, you know, targeted by those people because I have a family here. I'm not scared. I'm not frightened.

But I don't want my family to be, you know, harassed here. Yeah. So in the United States, I'm not. I don't have the fear to be abducted. But I mean, I don't want to be harassed. I don't want to feel insecure in the public place. My kids are, you know, going to the schools. It's the same, not just for me, but also other people, other dissidents in this community.

And have there been instances where you found yourself in harm's way? I've been receiving a lot of threats from people who are living in Turkey and also here in the United States. And they say that I know you. I know where you live. I know where your kids are going. So I've been receiving lots of messages like that. I haven't, you know, encountered a physical thing right now, but it doesn't mean that it won't happen.

Right. I'm sorry you're experiencing that. Yeah. I mean, courage takes that kind of risks, but we have to speak up. And there are thousands of people in Turkey who cannot speak up, who are silenced. I feel the urge to speak up on their behalf. So we talked about what you're hearing from friends and family back home in Turkey, but are they receiving any threats like you are? Not threats, but it's not easy for them to live in the society because it's not just state-led violence or discriminations.

Also in the society because of the state's discourse, there are lots of discriminations that families of dissidents are facing right now. For example, my property along with hundreds of people, it's been seized by the government. So it means that I cannot send any money to people right now because we want to support people who are dismissed from their jobs financially, but I cannot send any money. I mean, as soon as I send any money, it's been seized by the government. Wow. It seems like Erdogan still has a significant number of supporters within Turkey, while Turks living here in the States appear more united against him. What do you think might contribute to this divergence in opinions? you're right, for the first time in the historical context of Turkey, people from different backgrounds,

political, ideological or, you know, religious backgrounds have been united to make the change, to make an impact. But despite this fact, Erdogan has right now almost 49.5% support in the society. But also Erdogan has a, you know, incredible impact in the society because he's using a very, you know, influential proxy, the religion or the refugee issue and also the national identity issue. So that's why he got that kind of support. But also this kind of unity in the opposition, I'm hoping that it's going to be very impactful in the runoff. What are your hopes for Turkey in the months and years to come? Are you optimistic? I have to be optimistic because, you know, there are thousands of people in jails arbitrarily detained and arrested. So a possible

governmental change is giving us the hope for, you know, reviewing these cases, reinstating the rule of law back in Turkey. So we are optimistic. We are hopeful because for the last seven years, people are going through harsh conditions in terms of injustices and human rights violations. So with this hope, we are working more, mobilizing more to make an impact in the runoff. Haasa Geerdap is Director of the Group Advocates of Silence Turkey and a PhD. candidate at Stony Brook University. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday.

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