Among the main problems that worry the modern world especially acute problem of inter-ethnic relations, the ability of people of different racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds live peacefully within one nation state to tolerate the right of another to be different, to be different but equal.
Today there are more than 270 nationalities and ethnic groups, while the number of states does not exceed 230. From what we can conclude that in the future mankind will have to live in a multiethnic state, as the trend of migration from one continent to another, from one region to the other continues to grow.
One of the countries in which the most urgent problem of inter-ethnic relations is the United States of America. "The population of the United States reached 300 million mark, every year the population of United states exceeds by an average of 1.5 million immigrants from around the world. According to US sources, the United States is home to 146 ethnic groups and minorities. It is no wonder that the national question has always been one of the most important in the history of this country. US inherently is a country of immigrants. "We are all immigrants here" President Franklin D. Roosevelt said. "A nation of immigrants" in this way named his book another president of The United States, John F. Kennedy. There is a statement of one of American well-known historians who mentioned that one day he decided to write the story of immigrants in America and found that immigrants are the American story. It is due to the mixing of variegated ethnic and racial attitudes of the population there was a process of forming a single American nation.
The problem of the differences between the cultural stereotypes of different nations has been known since ancient times. However, only since the mid of XX century abstract conclusions about the differences between the cultures of different countries became verified with the data of muss studies of stereotypes and values. The researches were made by analyzing the mental characteristics of the various ethnic groups with formal mathematical methods.
After the murder of Alexander II in 1881 in the south of Russia, there began a wave of riots against the Jewish community. This has led to a significant increase of Jewish immigration from Russia especially to the United States of America. More than 90 percent of Jews fleeing riots in Russia, went to the United States, a country which at that time was considered by Jews as the best country to immigrate in. Their arrival was not always welcomed by the Jews, that immigrated to America earlier, they feared that a new wave of Jewish immigration can stimulate the growth of anti-Semitism. Some of the Jews later recalled how they had been denied with accommodation in hotels owners of which were also Jews, that immigrated to the United States in earlier years.
The study has shown that 2/3 of the Jews settled in New York, Chicago and Boston. Most unskilled workers were forced to accept low-paying jobs in factories and mines. Immigrants often got a job at the enterprises rapidly growing garment industry. Hours-long, exhausting, low-paid jobs and unsanitary conditions that awaited immigrants in garment factories. Later a man of Jewish nationality became the head of the trade union in the garment industry, and within short period of time Jews supplanted American workers in this industry.
Immigrating to the United States I have faced a lot difficulties related with the problem of cultural differences between United States of America and Turkey. However, Turkish culture today is very different from the historical culture of this country. On the one hand, it is a Muslim country, that is almost entirely located in the southwestern part of Asia. On the other hand, for a long period of time Turkey has been holding the sociopolitical course to the West. From this cultural combination derive some features that are pretty much different with the culture of The United States.
In the US, the first Turkish Muslims appeared in the early twentieth century, although at that time they accounted for only 15% of all arrivals of citizens of the Ottoman Empire (most were Greeks, Jews and Armenians). In the second half of the twentieth century in the United States a large number of Turkish students have arrived, many of whom diced to settle in the United States after graduating from universities and finding job.
New York and Istanbul are very different cities. If you think about what are the cities can be it is right to quickly and simply say that they can be different. It is impossible to compare New York and Istanbul, Dubrovnik and Moscow, St. Petersburg and Glasgow, Venice and Sydney. What are these differences in? This differences are in a very large extent - in size, in architecture, in an environment, in people. It is clear that such differences are infinitely many and they are multifaceted. It is clear that these differences can find many weighty reasons for this: history, culture, traditions, climate and so on.
I consider New York to be the heart of the United States of America, and Istanbul to be the heart of Turkey. They are both big cultural and historical centers of their countries. They are both cities where millions of people live, of course they are both multinational. New York and Istanbul have very different culture, but due to the process of globalization, that is happening very fast nowadays, there are plenty common cultural aspects between this cities. Due to this different traditions and different religions is not that big issue anymore. Today we can meet the fact of practicing different religions all over the world, almost all developed countries have their minorities that are free to practice any religion they like, and celebrate their own holidays, obey their traditions and customs.
Istanbul is the only city in the world, which is located at the junction of two neighboring continents, that are Asia and Europe as if putting them together in a single one. Moreover, it is the only city in the world, which is more than for two millennia, was the capital of two world empires.
New York is not only one of the most important cities in the United States of America, but also one of the most important cities in the world. New York is a very important financial, historical, political, cultural and economic world center. It is the most attractive city for the immigrants coming all over the world, the ideal city for gaining the american dream, the city where all dreams may come true.
