briefing university of florida student report 2 jm

8/9/2019 Briefing University of Florida Student Report 2 JM

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Union of European Turkish Democrats- 10.03.2010

The second visit during our trip, our meeting with the Union of European

Turkish Democrats, and NPO, was a little more laid back than the first. We met with

Mehmet Alparslan Sagygun, the secretary general of UETD.

UETD is an independent civilian organization, accredited to the European

Parliament, which focuses on the optimization of the statuette of European Turks,

at both the political and socio-economic level. It was during the meeting with UETD

that I first heard the term Euro-Turks, essentially, European citizens of Turkish origin

who wish to retain the rights of a European citizen without forsaking their Turkish

culture.

Mr. Sagyun expressed one of the goals of his mission statement as the

promotion of the socio-identity of the previously mentioned Euro-Turks, which

brought, for me, light to two new situations: the issue of the discrimination against

Europeans of Turkish descent and the backlash received by those promoting the

Euro-Turk identity from others of Turkish origin who do not identify themselves as

Europeans.

I was unable to make a fair assessment of the level of discrimination and

backlash the Euro-Turk identity suffers during my short stay in Brussels. However,

because I tend to draw personal comparisons in order to better understand the

emotions involved in a situation, the question of -Turk identity seemed particularly

similar to the question of identity posed to people of mixed-races. As one from a

slew of varying ethnicities, I often find that people apply stereotypes to me when

assessing my nationality. It is not enough to say that I am American. To many of

my white friends, I am white, plus some. To the majority of my black friends, the

one-drop rule applies. Since I choose not to identify myself as one or the other


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But the optimistic spirit of Mr. Sagyun ensures some success, even if minimal

in the grand scheme of the organizations goals. His tactic is simple: to continue to

express his views, over and over again.

briefing university of florida student report 2 jm

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