Among Turkish first-generation immigrants arrived in Germany in the 60s as “guest workers”, there also was Ms Yildiz’s father. Ms Yildiz was born near Smyrna 56 years ago and, after an early childhood spent in Turkey, she joined her father in Berlin with her mother in the early 70s.
“At least in Berlin, at that time no integration policy existed”, she says. “I remember that in my class there were no other Turkish students, there were two Yugoslav girls and an Italian one but they already spoke a bit of German, while I did not understand a single word. I was extremely unhappy, I had no friends and the only thing I wanted was to go back home to Turkey.”
With time and effort, not only did Ms Yildiz complete compulsory schooling, but she also became nursery school teacher and, in the late 80s, she opened the first bilingual German-Turkish “Kita” in Berlin.
“Now I am very happy, I would never go back to Smyrna. On the contrary, my children, who studied here, would like to move to Turkey and start their career there. In Germany, competition is too strong, youths are all extremely qualified. It would be easier for them to find a job in Turkey.”
Do you feel more German or Turkish?
“I feel European, but my heart is Turkish. I like German security and organisation, even if it was difficult for me to get used to German mentality. In the 70s, the Turkish and German communities were completely separated from each other; there was no contact between them. Now it is no longer so.”
Do you think that the kind of emigration from Turkey to German has changed over time?
“In the past, people arrived in Germany as ‘guest workers’, they did not think they would stay here. Now Turkish youths come to Germany to study and have a better life.”
What is the greatest difficulty you had to face?
“The fact of being considered ‘different’. I do not refer to Berlin, it is a so international town that nobody even notices what you wear. I am talking about smaller towns, where some of my parents live. There, women wearing the veil were considered ‘strange’. Moreover, as immigrants, we strongly preserved our traditions, maybe because we were afraid we could lose our cultural identity; luckily, now Germans and Turks are not so distant from each other. Some time ago, I saw a very surreal scene: after a demonstration, some young supporters of NDP (the extreme right-wing political party, Editor’s note) went to eat a kebab.”
So, would you be happy if your daughter married a German man?
We already have German relatives in our family”, Ms Yildiz says laughing, “I would be glad to have a German son-in-law.”
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