It must come to an end: Turkish cultural workers on the election and exile

Hoping, although you know better: seven cultural workers from Turkey who left their country because they were in danger or could no longer stand life under Erdogan talk about their lives between two worlds.

NNobody knows exact numbers of how many people from Turkey have left their country in recent years. The brutal crackdown on the Gezi protests in 2013, almost exactly ten years ago, after which the palace regime stepped up its repression, was the turning point for many. Hundreds of thousands of people then turned their backs on Turkey because they could no longer stand life there, saw themselves robbed of their freedom, youth, dreams and opportunities for development – or because they were being massively persecuted by the judicial system that had been brought into line. There was great hope that last Sunday’s election could bring about a turning point after 21 years of AKP rule. Some had already packed their bags because they thought they could finally go back to their old lives – secretly knowing that it no longer exists because life abroad has changed and because Turkish society has changed enormously under Erdogan. But the longing for the lost home or a visit to friends and relatives remains.

They were all bitterly disappointed. A victory for the opposition alliance in the run-off election is more than unlikely. In every election since the Gezi protests, it has been hoped that Erdogan will adopt a more moderate stance after winning. The opposite has always been the case. Should he win again now, he will take that as a free ticket to subject Turkey even more uninhibitedly to his one-man rule.