Huseyin Buyukdag says he loves Turkey and his job as a teacher, but with the rampant economic crisis and growing repression in his country, he said he and his wife have decided to try and find a better life in Germany.
They are among a growing number of young and educated looking to leave Turkey, where rights and freedoms are being eroded and inflation is surging under increasingly authoritarian Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
After Erdogan secured a third term in office in May elections, things are unlikely to change, Buyukdag said.
Photo:AP
“Even if I don’t want this, even if I hate this, I will ... leave this beautiful country,” the 27-year-old English teacher said.
Buyukdag and his wife, a nurse, live in the impoverished southeastern province of Sirnak. Their government-appointed jobs bring the two roughly up to US$1,750 a month — over the official poverty line of US$1,564.
It is enough to make ends meet in their border province, but far short of what is needed in big cities like Istanbul or the capital, Ankara, and nowhere enough for a young couple to save or start a family.
Turkey, a country of more than 84 million people hit by a series of crises in recent years, saw the official annual inflation at 61 percent last month, though some economists believe the real figure is double that number.
For many, the way out is through education visas to study abroad or work permits.
TurkStat, the government’s statistics bureau, said 139,531 Turkish citizens left the country last year, compared with 103,613 in 2021. Those aged 25 to 29 formed the biggest group.
The numbers are a significant increase from 77,810 Turks who left in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.
The brain drain is separate from the hundreds of thousands of irregular migrants and those escaping wars and troubles at home, like in Syria or Iraq, who use Turkey as a route to Europe, often setting off on dangerous voyages across the Mediterranean Sea with the help of people smugglers.
Sociologist and author Besim Dellaloglu attributed some of the exodus of the “uppermost educated layers of society” to an erosion of democratic norms.
“I do not have the impression that this migration will be reversed without decreasing polarization in Turkey,” Dellaloglu said.
Most likely to emigrate are medical professionals and information technology (IT) specialists, Dellaloglu said, but also highly trained individuals from all sectors.
Ahmet Akkoc, a 24-year-old IT engineer, left two years ago to study for a master’s degree in Denmark but then found a job in Copenhagen and decided to stay.
“I had an area that I wanted to specialize in and there was absolutely no demand for that specialization in Turkey,” he said.
Last year, more than 2,600 doctors applied for the necessary documents from the Turkish Medical Association to be able to practice outside the country. Physicians mostly cited small salaries, grueling working conditions and an uptick in violence by disgruntled patients as reasons for their decision.
In one of his speeches last year, an angry Erdogan said all doctors who wanted to can “go ahead and leave.”
He later softened his tone, saying those who left would soon return as Turkey holds the promise of a “bright future.”
Many other Turks prefer to stay, even with an increasingly polarized society.
“I can understand the people who are leaving, some things really need to change,” said Fatma Zehra Eksi, a 22-year-old student from Istanbul who says she is a reluctant supporter of Erdogan. “But if we ... leave because we are not comfortable here, then there will be no one left here to change things.”
Serap Ilgin, a 26-year-old copywriter in Istanbul, said she grew up with the values of secular Turkey and its founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
“Leaving is not a solution, on the contrary, I think we need to stay here and fight,” she said.
The growing discontent comes as Turkey marks the 100th anniversary of Ataturk’s proclamation of a secular republic, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
RSS