Turkish Delight: Disappointment

(I traveled to Turkey for vacation during first half of July,2014. Following is an account of my experiences in Ankara/Istanbul. This is the ninth installment of the series, involving an aerial journey to Istanbul and a missed flight to Cappadokia. Later I hung out with a Kurdish fellow and had a jolly good time. I hope you enjoy it)

I woke up fairly early on my last day in Ankara and was ready to get down to the airport by 8 am. My Turkish friend Yigit had promised to pick me up on his way to the airport. My flight was supposed to leave at 9:30 am. Yigit picked me a bit later than we expected him. I bid my Pakistani friend goodbye and thanked him profusely for his hospitality.

During our long journey to the airport(which is quite far from downtown), we had a good chat.I told Yigit about the number of cousins I had and how my mother used to cook when we hosted an annual party, about population explosion in Pakistan and how the population of only Punjab province is larger than whole population of turkey. We also talked about conspiracy theory culture in Pakistan and turkey (his master’s thesis was on conspiracy theories while I have written about this topic for many years). We reached the Ankara Airport just in time for me to check-in at the last moment. Pegasus airlines has the cutest pre-flight instruction videos, involving kids only. I wish more airlines used a "human" touch like that. The flight went seamlessly and I was at Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Istanbul by 10:15 am. I later discovered that “Sabiha Gökçen” was the name of Ataturk’s adopted daughter who was a fighter pilot. The airport is located almost 55 Kilometers away from Ataturk Airport from where I had a flight booked for Cappadokia. I was supposed to be there within 2 hours till the check-in counter closed. I had two options: Either take the Havataş bus service which left from Sabiha Gökçen to Taksim every 30 minutes and took almost 1.5 hours, or I could take a Taxi which would’ve cost more but was supposed to be faster.When I exited the airport, the 10:30 Havataş shuttle was full so I could either wait for the 11:00 am bus (and pay 19 TL) or ride into one of the Taxis.

 
I chose the later option and took the first available Taxi out of Sabiha Gökçen. I was unfortunate because the driver didn’t understand English and my Türkçe was not good enough to get across my message. I asked him to drop me off at the nearest Tram stations (which, in any case was pretty far) but he took me to Kabataş. The roads were very crowded and it took us almost 80 minutes to reach Kabataş station. His meter showed 85 TL, but he charged me 96 TL due to some stupid reason. I was in too much hurry to argue with him at that point. I recharged my Istanbulkart and took the Tram to Yusufpaşa from where I took the Aksaray-Havalimani line. In hindsight, I should’ve changed the trams at Zeytinburnu but I was in full panic mode at that time. The tram reached Ataturk International Airport at 12:26 pm. I ran like crazy towards the Domestic Departures lounge which is on the second floor. By the time I arrived at the check-in counter, I was 10-15 minutes late and check-in counter had been closed. I talked to a Turkish Airlines representative who informed me that I had lost the flight and my only option is to get a new ticket from their office.

I found Turkish Airline’s office on the same floor and waited for almost 40 minutes before I got a chance to exchange my ticket at the counter. I was informed that I had to pay 200 TL if I wanted the ticket on next flight to Cappadokia. I had previously paid the same amount for a return ticket and this felt too expensive (considering that I was looking forward to an air-balloon ride which cost almost 350 TL). I pondered over my options for a moment and decided that it was too much of an investment, and asked for a refund. I got 93 Liras back and I walked away dejected. I had gotten hotel booking through my Iranian friend in Istanbul but this was an unexpected turn of events so I decided to call my friend and get the reservation for another night. With a heavy heart, I strolled back and took the tram. I was extremely tired after the panic-ride on taxi and tram followed by the airport hassle. On my way to Isteklal (where my new Otel was based), I decided to take a detour of Sultanahmet and catch up with my new friends, the Ask Me volunteers. I had missed them immensly during the Ankara visit. I grabbed a Tavuk Doner from a nearby shop and reached the Hippodrome arena. I met Doğukan, Ahmet and some other volunteers near the entrance of Old Bazaar. I recounted my tragic tale of missing the flight due to terrible traffic and how I decided to stay another day in my favorite city.
After spending an hour or so with the volunteers, I collected my luggage and took the tram to Karakoy and the Tunel from there. My next hotel was located in Asmalimescit Cadessi, at walking distance from Isteklal. I was welcomed in the hotel by the reception guy with an impromptu rendition of "Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan"(means Long live Pakistan, a famous anthem back home). I was allotted a room on the 4^th floor and thankfully, there was Wi-Fi availability in the room. I rested for a while and then decided to take a detour of Isteklal Cadessi.  

On my way back from Taksim I square I found the stall of a socialist party (it had a long name which I don’t recall but their flag called for promotion of socialism, income equality and feminism). They didn't have anyone there with English language skills so a Kurdish guy became my interpreter. They showed me their newspaper (more of a newsletter actually) and despite the language barrier, were quick to dissociate themselves from "Turkish Communist Party". Later on, I accompanied the Kurdish guy across Isteklal and we ended up having a long conversation about Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraq.He told that he was studying cinema at Erbil University and was working in the youth and culture ministry of KRG. He was in Istanbul to work in a stage production. One was his brothers was in the Peshmerga force (KRG's national army) and he showed me a lot of pictures of Peshmagras and himself in a Peshmerga outfit (as he had portrayed them in a drama).

He mentioned the natural beauty of Erbil, KRG's capital and how victims of chemical weapons (used during the Saddam era) were still suffering from the after-effects. He emphasised his strict dietary habits (lots of water, some fish, oranges and lemon juice) because he wanted to stay fit as an actor. We talked a bit about situation of Turkish and Iranian cinema during which I name-dropped Antonioni, the only legendary producer I had heard of, from some film aficionado friends. 

He used the word "very" quite a lot and had difficulty in explaining some terms but my cursory knowledge of Arabic was enough to keep us away from a communication blockade. We shared contact information and had Turkish coffee at a chic coffee place in the Galata area.

I finished the wonderful evening by having an "Aaloo paratha" at an Indian restaurant run by Turkish owners. They were playing Bollywood songs in the background, probably to emphasize their "Indian connection". I had a lot of difficult sleeping that night (despite my tiredness) because of strong Turkish coffee. I chatted with a Pakistani friend who was visiting the United States in those days and a Greek friend who told me about “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response”, a technique to help insomniacs. It probably helped and I finally slept around 3:30 am.   

The Tide is Turning

Thoughts on impact of mass-scale immigration on Europe and rise of right-wing nationalist parties in European Elections

(Originally Published in The Nation on 16th June, 2014)

On 31st of May, 2014, more than 3000 migrants from North Africa reached the shores of Italy. Most of the refugees, using boats to cross the Mediterranean Sea, had arrived from Syria. In 2011, the number of illegal border-crossing detections in the European Union (EU) jumped by 35% to 1, 41,000 as thousands of Tunisians arrived at Italian island of Lampedusa after the start of ‘Arab Spring’. This exodus from Africa continued in 2012-13 due to the uprising in Libya and Syria. In 2013, a boat carrying 360 people from North Africa to Italy capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. It was not a solitary event and similar accidents have been reported in the last five years. In 2012, 51% of migrants entering the EU illegally did so via Greece. This prompted the Greek authorities to construct a barbed-wire fence at the Greek-Turkish border.

According to the Dublin Regulation in European Union’s Law, entry-point states bear unilateral responsibility for migrants. The law stipulates that asylum seekers must remain in the first European country they enter, and that country is solely responsible for examining migrants’ asylum applications. Migrants who travel to other European Union (EU) states face deportation back to the EU country they originally entered. In Italy, migrants face fines and deportation under the Bossi-Finni Immigration law enacted in 2002, which stipulates that migrants must secure work contracts before entering the country. According to the law, illegal migration is a punishable offense in Italy.

The great economic recession that engulfed United States in 2008 affected many countries in Europe as well. The first to fall was Ireland in 2007-08, followed by Spain, Greece, Italy, Iceland, France and Portugal. Economic disparity reached new heights while the number of jobless people was on an all-time high. The Eurozone crisis was blamed on trade imbalance between countries in Northern Europe and Southern Europe.

In November 2008, the European Commission presented the European Economic Recovery Plan which aimed at promoting austerity and decreased government spending in the affected countries. Following the recession, there is a significant decrease in confidence faced by European Institutions and according to data from Eurobarometer, levels of mistrust towards the European Commission escalated from 27% to 47% in the period between 2007 and 2013.

Results of the latest round of European Elections should be evaluated in the backdrop of increased immigration and financial crisis. Far-Right nationalist parties witnessed a surge in their vote share and were able to win a few seats in different countries in the European Union. From among 751 electoral seats in the EU parliament, far-right or euroskeptic parties were able to win 108 seats, compared to 56 seats in the previous election. Countries where Euroskeptic parties made inroads included Germany, France, United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Austria. Major political parties across Europe did not place too much importance on these elections and a sharp decline in number of voters was seen.

Judy Dempsey-an expert on European politics at Carnegie endowment for International peace-was of the view that “the turn out continues to decline [in the EU elections]. This time around, the recent economic crisis has fed into this sense of disillusionment with Europe and boosted Euroskeptic parties across the continent. The two most prominent are Britain’s UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) and France’s Front National. It must be said that mainstream parties standing for European parliament have not done the kind of grassroots campaigning necessary to defend Europe. In contrast, the nationalist/populist parties are exploiting this weakness with their own high-profile campaigning. They are well-organized and highly motivated, and they are able to sell a very clear message.”

Founder of France’s ‘Front National’ party suggested prior to the elections that “releasing the deadly Ebola Virus could sort out Europe’s immigration issue in three months”. A neo-Nazi party called ‘Golden Dawn’ in Greece vows to “rid Greece of Filth” and a good number of members of the party are in prison for hate-crimes against immigrants.
In the last few months, Russia and its annexation of parts of Ukraine, has threatened to bring war to Europe, after relative peace for the last 70 years. Russia is the main supplier of Natural gas to Europe and a conflict can lead to serious energy crisis in European countries including Germany. Presence of far-right parties in the European parliament is not going to cause too much trouble for the European populace because of limited powers of legislation. The maximum that can be achieved by the nationalist fringe is ‘nuisance value’ during legislation.

Due to unexpected results in the elections, multiculturalism and integration have been deemed to fail in European societies. It is far too early to mourn the demise of an idea as big as multiculturalism. Societies across Europe are changing at a sluggish pace and it would still take many decades to integrate migrants from places that are less developed socially and economically in the diverse native cultures. The far-right/nationalist movement is a reactionary enterprise and would defeat itself in the near future.