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ERDOGAN MEETS WITH TURKEY'S ROMA COMMUNITY
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan receives a roaring ovation from a 12,000-strong crowd as he arrives to address members of the Roma community at an Istanbul auditorium in the first such meeting with a Turkish premier.
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: 14.03.2010 |
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Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan receives a roaring ovation from a 12,000-strong crowd as he arrives to address members of the Roma community at an Istanbul auditorium in the first such meeting with a Turkish premier. Erdoğan unveils plans to improve Roma housing in 40 provinces as other officials promise better education and employment opportunities. 'Today is the first time I cried out in happiness,' one Roma woman says
Tears of hope and happiness filled the eyes of members of Turkey’s Roma community as they stepped off the buses that brought them from around the country to a historic meeting with the prime minister Sunday.
Festivities kicked off and emotions ran high in the hours leading up to the meeting at Istanbul’s Abdi İpekçi Sports Auditorium as thousands of Roma sang, cheered, chanted and danced outside the venue.
Many expressed hopes that their problems would be solved by the government’s new initiative to integrate ethnic minority groups into society without discrimination.
“For years we have been cast out and forgotten,” Selçuk, a member of the Mersin Roma community, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “This day means a lot to me because it is the first time in history that a prime minister has addressed us and our problems.”
Selçuk said he believed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would succeed in transforming the lives of the Roma in Turkey.
“King Erdoğan, King Erdoğan, are you are going to put real roofs over our heads?” a group of women led by Esma S. chanted as they danced outside the auditorium.
“Today is the first time I cried out in happiness; before, my tears always ran because of my anguish and suffering,” Esma S. told the Daily News.
Members of the Roma community and government officials filled the auditorium to its 12,000-person capacity. Erdoğan received an epic standing ovation from the audience as he entered the auditorium, throwing out red and white carnations to the crowd.
“Our country, our land and our civilization is inspired by love and tolerance,” Erdoğan said in his opening address. “It is the lack of tolerance that is the sole factor that destroys the inspiration our land is built on.”
The prime minister emphasized that he was brought up among the Roma community in Istanbul’s Kasımpaşa district. “I heard every derogatory term used for you. I saw the way you were outcast and framed as ‘gypsies,’” he said. “Let them say what they please. What is important is that you are people and should be treated no different from the other people who live on this land.”
The prime minister’s speech was momentarily disrupted as a group of Roma at the back of the auditorium tried to restrain some women holding up a banner reading, “We want a free education, and we will get it.”
The incident, which led the entire audience to turn their backs on the prime minister as boos and hisses resounded in the auditorium, demonstrated the unease felt by members of the Roma community about their lack of education and the way they have been shunned by educational institutions in the past.
“I understand you feel anxious and hurt, but this is the beginning," Erdoğan said. “We have listened to you, we are aware of your problems, and we will pave the way to your freedom and rights. You will no longer be known [just] for your talent in music, but your other talents will be encouraged through education.”
State Minister Faruk Çelik also spoke at the gathering and noted the key demands of the Roma community, including education, employment and a better standard of housing.
“Until today, nobody cared to ask the Roma community what their problems are,” Çelik said. “We have, and we have started to address them and have opened our arms to each problem one by one.”
Erdoğan unveiled plans at the event for the Housing Development Administration, or TOKİ, to increase living standards for the Roma by building new houses for members of the community in 40 provinces.
The auditorium erupted in chants and cheers as the audience watched a slideshow that displayed pictures of their housing before and after the proposed regeneration projects.
“These new housing complexes will not just accommodate you; there will be shopping and social facilities for your families at affordable prices, starting with installments of 100 Turkish Liras per month,” Erdoğan said.
Other speakers at the meeting included Elmas Arus, chairwoman of the Zero-Discrimination Foundation, who highlighted that the problems for the Roma start as early as their birth.
“We are automatically classed as gypsy people, who people take one look at and run away from,” Arus said. “We want to go to school and learn, but even when we are in the same uniform as everyone else, we are made to sit elsewhere and are treated differently.”
“Even if our hands are dirty, we want everyone to know our souls are clean, and we want to be educated,” she said. “We want to be doctors and engineers. We want to be known for more than our music.”
Roma singer Kibariye, who performed at the gathering, said: “I am a Roma, I am proud to be a Roma and I believe in Prime Minister Erdoğan and that he will eliminate the prejudices made against my people.” Her performance brought the entire auditorium to its feet in song and dance.
The meeting was praised by the Council of Europe, whose spokesman, speaking on behalf of the secretary-general of the council, said the Turkish government had shown great commitment to the Roma problem. He added that the meeting was the largest and most spectacular of its kind ever organized in Europe.
,
HURRIYETDAILYNEWS
Tears of hope and happiness filled the eyes of members of Turkey’s Roma community as they stepped off the buses that brought them from around the country to a historic meeting with the prime minister Sunday.
Festivities kicked off and emotions ran high in the hours leading up to the meeting at Istanbul’s Abdi İpekçi Sports Auditorium as thousands of Roma sang, cheered, chanted and danced outside the venue.
Many expressed hopes that their problems would be solved by the government’s new initiative to integrate ethnic minority groups into society without discrimination.
“For years we have been cast out and forgotten,” Selçuk, a member of the Mersin Roma community, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “This day means a lot to me because it is the first time in history that a prime minister has addressed us and our problems.”
Selçuk said he believed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would succeed in transforming the lives of the Roma in Turkey.
“King Erdoğan, King Erdoğan, are you are going to put real roofs over our heads?” a group of women led by Esma S. chanted as they danced outside the auditorium.
“Today is the first time I cried out in happiness; before, my tears always ran because of my anguish and suffering,” Esma S. told the Daily News.
Members of the Roma community and government officials filled the auditorium to its 12,000-person capacity. Erdoğan received an epic standing ovation from the audience as he entered the auditorium, throwing out red and white carnations to the crowd.
“Our country, our land and our civilization is inspired by love and tolerance,” Erdoğan said in his opening address. “It is the lack of tolerance that is the sole factor that destroys the inspiration our land is built on.”
The prime minister emphasized that he was brought up among the Roma community in Istanbul’s Kasımpaşa district. “I heard every derogatory term used for you. I saw the way you were outcast and framed as ‘gypsies,’” he said. “Let them say what they please. What is important is that you are people and should be treated no different from the other people who live on this land.”
The prime minister’s speech was momentarily disrupted as a group of Roma at the back of the auditorium tried to restrain some women holding up a banner reading, “We want a free education, and we will get it.”
The incident, which led the entire audience to turn their backs on the prime minister as boos and hisses resounded in the auditorium, demonstrated the unease felt by members of the Roma community about their lack of education and the way they have been shunned by educational institutions in the past.
“I understand you feel anxious and hurt, but this is the beginning," Erdoğan said. “We have listened to you, we are aware of your problems, and we will pave the way to your freedom and rights. You will no longer be known [just] for your talent in music, but your other talents will be encouraged through education.”
State Minister Faruk Çelik also spoke at the gathering and noted the key demands of the Roma community, including education, employment and a better standard of housing.
“Until today, nobody cared to ask the Roma community what their problems are,” Çelik said. “We have, and we have started to address them and have opened our arms to each problem one by one.”
Erdoğan unveiled plans at the event for the Housing Development Administration, or TOKİ, to increase living standards for the Roma by building new houses for members of the community in 40 provinces.
The auditorium erupted in chants and cheers as the audience watched a slideshow that displayed pictures of their housing before and after the proposed regeneration projects.
“These new housing complexes will not just accommodate you; there will be shopping and social facilities for your families at affordable prices, starting with installments of 100 Turkish Liras per month,” Erdoğan said.
Other speakers at the meeting included Elmas Arus, chairwoman of the Zero-Discrimination Foundation, who highlighted that the problems for the Roma start as early as their birth.
“We are automatically classed as gypsy people, who people take one look at and run away from,” Arus said. “We want to go to school and learn, but even when we are in the same uniform as everyone else, we are made to sit elsewhere and are treated differently.”
“Even if our hands are dirty, we want everyone to know our souls are clean, and we want to be educated,” she said. “We want to be doctors and engineers. We want to be known for more than our music.”
Roma singer Kibariye, who performed at the gathering, said: “I am a Roma, I am proud to be a Roma and I believe in Prime Minister Erdoğan and that he will eliminate the prejudices made against my people.” Her performance brought the entire auditorium to its feet in song and dance.
The meeting was praised by the Council of Europe, whose spokesman, speaking on behalf of the secretary-general of the council, said the Turkish government had shown great commitment to the Roma problem. He added that the meeting was the largest and most spectacular of its kind ever organized in Europe.
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HURRIYETDAILYNEWS
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