While Europe is ravaged by Muslim terror I’m sorry crossing the bridge on the Bosphorus to catch my plane. Istanbul is the most beautiful city in Europe with her intertwining of majestic nature and invasive urbanization like only Rio and Cape Town can display in the world.
I can’t understand why Europeans are not proud of it. On the contrary, “They don’t want us” as I’ve been reminded by everybody in the last 3 days.
Europeans are obsessed with Islam and Turkey has become the frontline: Turkey mustn’t join the EU or it will be the end of us and European civilization. As you can see I’m reading Huntington. The veil – or headscarf – has become the symbol war.
Is this a real threat or fear of unknown?
Last week I was in Brussels. After 3 days of European conferences I had to go to a gym. At the entrance I realized I didn’t have a T-shirt. “Who cares?” I thought and got in. 2 guys with Middle Eastern features remarked my lack of ‘integrity’ loudly. I was ready to enter battle against ‘Islamization’ of gyms but nothing else happened. I finished my run and left.
For a moment I felt like those women in the suburbs of European cities, I read in the papers, who have been forced to wear a veil or were attacked because they didn’t. I felt the urgency to claim back my right to behave as I wish in public.
The day after I was in Istanbul seating in the main room of a community centre for poor women. It was a feild trip part of the BMW Foundation European Young Leader Forum. I couldn’t refrain from asking them what they think about the European animosity for the veil. Their answers were shocking.
They didn’t see an issue. As you can see in the picture there are veiled and unveiled women. “It’s a personal choice. As an organisation we promote tolerance and we teach women to express themselves.”
These women work together in a consortium of 75 cooperative and train 200,000 women every year to be economically independent. Islam is not an issue but a choice.
I brought with me 2 more points from that discussions. All those women stated to be European except for one who claimed to be Asian. None declared to be Middle-Easterner.
They were are all NGOs people but were very sceptical about Westerner trends. They are pretty unimpressed by social enterprise which saw as dangerous for community cohesion since it brings competition within the community and put too much emphasis on income generation rather than social inclusion.
The leader of the group visited the UK. She spoke English perfectly. She was quite critical about social exclusion in Europe. The poverty she found was different from what she experienced in Turkey: “In Turkey poor people lack material means but survive thanks to community solidarity While in Europe they are left alone in their both material and social poverty. I’m not surprised they end up with alcohol and drug addiction.”
Perhaps it’s true what everybody says here: Turkey is neither European nor Asian but a bridge between the two. You just need to use it to move from one side to the other one.
For me European membership of Turkey is the most important decision on the future of Europe. Do we want a Europe closed in its allegedly historical borders as Fortress Europe or ever growing space defined by share rules, values and standards as Europe unltd?
Cosa fa VITA?
Da 30 anni VITA è la testata di riferimento dell’innovazione sociale, dell’attivismo civico e del Terzo settore. Siamo un’impresa sociale senza scopo di lucro: raccontiamo storie, promuoviamo campagne, interpelliamo le imprese, la politica e le istituzioni per promuovere i valori dell’interesse generale e del bene comune. Se riusciamo a farlo è grazie a chi decide di sostenerci.