Introduction
The new developments in social and mainstream media have made a great contribution in the transnational cultural order as Kevin Robins puts it in his popular research work regarding the media and cultural practices in the Turkish Diaspora in Britain. Such developments have been largely witnessed in the areas of satellites, television, cable and the internet. This has, therefore, enabled the Turkish communities in the diaspora to get in touch with what is happening in their homeland on a daily basis. They can watch the news on TV, read newspapers or even get quick information on social media due to the presence of connectivity on the internet.
Turks first moved to London in the 17th century during the Ottoman Empire. It should be remembered that Cyprus became a British colony in the year 1878 and therefore there was widespread hostility in that country then. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, most Turks migrated from their homeland in order to seek refuge in other countries mainly Britain, France and Germany. Among other reasons as to why they migrated was also to find a better lifestyle than they were experiencing in turkey.
This paper will, therefore, strive to discharge the onerous task of discussing the resultant multicultural public sphere in relation with these new developments in the communication sector with a specific focus on the Turkish diaspora in Britain. It will focus on the impact of the difference in religion on this minority group, the public sphere in relation to the new developments in social media and communication in general and a discussion as to whether the community still identifies itself as part and parcel of the greater Turkish nation or it has segregated itself from turkey(Beckett, 2008). Although Kevin Robin’s research work forms the crux of this work, other great works will provide the necessary ingredients that shall be used to enrich this paper in the best way possible. Examples will also be drawn from the Gezi Park protests and the anniversary that followed.
The multicultural public sphere
The Turkish diaspora emerged, as a result, of the massive wave of migration and settlement which occurred during the years preceding 1950 (Nicholas, 2010). As a result, the population so formed has a wide network and is scattered all over Europe although most of the concentration is in the states of Germany, Britain and France. The community, though a minority, has been serving as a link between Turkey and the European Union because the people making up the diaspora are scattered all over the continent. The new developments in communication in the areas of radio, satellites, newspapers, television, cable and the internet have made it possible for the community to keep abreast of what is happening in their home country.
Talip Kucukcan writes that there are over 4.5 million Turkish nationals scattered all over Europe and that in fact, some of them have been registered as citizens in those host countries. The advantage of having most of them concentrated in Germany, France and Britain makes it possible for them to get in touch with the home country via the developing communication channels and get to know what is happening there (Kucukcan, 2004). The community is continuously participating in the geopolitical, economic and sociocultural activities of the people making up the host countries in which they live. This interaction has resulted in a multicultural sphere that incorporates the ways of life of the people of the host countries while at the same time practicing what the people of the home countries practice because they read it in newspapers or watch over the television and the internet on a daily basis.
Young Turkish nationals in the diaspora are being educated and natured in the culture and education system of the host countries and this is likely to make it even more difficult to return because of the culture mix (Portes, 1995). It is noteworthy that these people are in touch with the people of the home country through social networks like Facebook and twitter and also reading news through the internet, television and radio.
The impact of religion on the minority status of the community
Talip Kucukcan writes that the entrance of Turkish immigrants in Europe to constitute the Turkish diaspora gave rise to what he calls the Turkish-Muslims in Europe. This, in his opinion, made Islam be a worldwide religion and not just a monolithic religion that is concentrated in the Asian countries. To this end, the Turkish diaspora is majorly Muslims who now live in an area dominated by Christians (Kaya, 2005). This makes them more of a minority bearing in mind that they are already so by the fact that they are immigrants. As such, the fact that they are Muslims makes them appear to be a minority because they live in an area dominated by Christians.
However, since they watch the television every day and read news over the internet on a daily basis, it makes them feel comfortable because they c n link up with the rest of the other Muslims all over the world in worship and prayer. They also do so over social networks and in the numerous discussion groups those are present over Facebook, they can share their sentiments and also discuss issues of concern whenever they arise.
Kevin Robins writes that there is a rising salience of ethnic and religious identities in the fact that the identity of the Turkish diaspora is being redefined (Cross, 1986). Existing literature shows that the community is engaged in activism to redefine its position in the transnational arena because the people making up the community belong to multifarious identities. Some of them have been registered and given citizenship by the host countries while others still have the homeland attachment their country and only wait for an opportunity to return. This emancipation has been brought about by the emergence of social media and other means of communication that have seen the people get more engaged in what is happening in their home country (Kucukcan, 2004). Thanks to social media and other forms of communication that emerged in the late 1990’s, the people can now discuss their issues online and share their sentiments as a people.
The role of the media in the Turkish-Diaspora debate
It is trite law that the media plays an important role in raising important debates that concern the masses. The role of the media is mainly to inform, to teach, to entertain and most importantly to expose important issues of concern for necessary actions to be taken (Robins, 2000). It has already been said in this paper that the rise of new communication models as satellites, the television and the internet has enabled the Turkish population in the diaspora to keep in touch with each other on what is happening in the homeland. Such attachment is, therefore, important and makes the diaspora debate to continue albeit online.
It should be remembered that initially by the year 1990, the Turkish broadcast system was in the hands of the state broadcaster TRT which enjoyed all the monopoly of broadcast to the detriment of all those who depended on it for news and education. Due to the rise of an era of transnational communicational models and spaces by in the years succeeding 1990, the identities that were initially branded as minorities and, therefore, in such a terminology marginalized were exposed. As a rule, state broadcasters hardly go an extra mile in exposing all filth and dissatisfaction that occurs in the state. This was what happened with the Turkish state broadcaster, TRT, as Kevin Robins opines. However, the rise of the movement of economic proliferation and pirate broadcasting in turkey in the years succeeding 1990 saw new television broadcasting stations coming up for example Interstar, Kanal 6, Show TV and ATV (Robins, 2000).
These channels, as Kevin Robins opines in his works, have contributed a big deal in airing the social concerns ailing the Turkish population both in and outside the country. This, of course, includes the diaspora issue. Another important step has been for the broadcast channels to make efforts to link up with other television channels from most of these host nations where the diaspora community lives in Europe so that the programs are received and watched by those people in the diaspora. This has contributed a great deal in educating them of what is happening in their home countries.
Satellites and also cable operators that have enabled transnational broadcast programs possible. This innovative coverage of the entire Turkish nation and the diaspora has enabled the channels to portray the image of the nation as it is in the international arena for the diaspora people to watch and be duly informed.
The state broadcaster has also gone transnational with its new channel TRT-INT which now broadcasts to foreign countries as well, making it possible for the Turkish nationals in the diaspora to keep abreast of the progress in the home country (Robins, 2000). The idea of transnational marketing has also contributed in airing the status of the Turkish nation worldwide. It follows that Turkish newspapers and magazines can now be printed in other countries in Europe and be sold there on a daily basis, making it possible for the Turkish nationals living in those countries to read the news as they are published. The newspapers and magazines are also used as an avenue of marketing Turkish culture and economic strategies worldwide and this makes it possible for the people to keep abreast of all this (Robins, 2000).
Emphasis is however placed on the emergent media for its efforts to bridge the gaps that have remained for some time now, as a result, of inadequacy of television and radio services. This new communication model is the internet that has resulted in new avenues for example Facebook and Twitter. Social networks have, therefore, emerged to market the Turkish culture all over the world for the people in the diaspora to see (Robins, 2000). As Robins however opines, there is a paucity of literature to show how the Turkish diaspora has been responding to the issues taking center stage in their home country, and this should form the basis of further research. The Guardian, for example, on June 11th, 2014, published news to the effect that police used tear gas against Gezi Park Anniversary protestors. This was a mark of authoritarianism and a show of the conservative nature of religion in Turkey.
References
Beckett, C. (2008). Supermedia, Saving Journalism so it can save the world. Blackwell.
Cross, M. (1986). Migrant Workers in European Cities: Forms of Inequality and Strategies for Policy in ed, Gustavson: Themes and Theories in Migration research . Copenhagen Therese Sachs , 55.
Kaya, A. &. (2005). Euro-Turks: A Bridge or Breach Between Turkey and the European Union? Brussels, Center for European Policy Studies, 51.
Kucukcan, T. (2004). The Making of Turkish-Muslim Diaspora in Britain: Religious Collective Identity in a Multicultural Public Sphere. Jornal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Calfax Publishing.
Nicholas, C. (2010). The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our Brains. W.W Norton.
Portes, A. (1995). The Economic Sociology of Immigration: Essays on Network, Ethnicity and Entrepreneurship. Newyork: Russel sage Foundation.
Robins, K. (2000). Negotiating Spaces: Media and Cultural Practices in the Turkish Diaspora in Britain, France and Germany. Goldsmiths College, Department of Media and Communications.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/01/turkish-police-teargas-gezi-park-protesters-one-year-anniversary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN3SLOX-3DQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yxO_gJOUCo
