Certain sections of our communities have supported Ayfer Orhan’s candidacy for Labour nomination in Edmonton, while others have not. Are the Turkish-speaking communities in Britain actually united?
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İsrafil Erbil (British Alevi Federation president)
Being Turkish is not enough
It was idealistic for us to produce a candidate that resembles unity among the Jewish and black communities.
Yunus Emre once said “There is one me within me, deeper than me” and I say “There is one us within us, deeper than us”.
We have had no contact with Ayfer Orhan since she became an Enfield councillor. She never even said hello. And yet the Alevi community faces certain difficulties and she could have been helpful.
It is not sufficient for Ayfer Orhan to be exclusively Turkish; she needs to appeal to other communities as well.[/otw_shortcode_info_box]
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Mutallip Ünlüer (Union of European Turkish Democrats president)
Let us take our place
Ayfer Orhan’s election is very, and I mean very important for the community. She is one among us, she is a lady who understands the best and I am sure that she can represent us in the best possible manner.
Other groups can exclude her but remember that she too was excluded in her youth. Our problems are the same. We encounter the same issues.
If she is elected, at the very least she will be Turkish-speaking. She will understand our problems and speak for them. This is a question of finding the place we deserve in the community[/otw_shortcode_info_box]
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Peray Ahmet (Haringey councillor)
What is unity?
It would be nice to have some representation from the Turkish-speaking communities, but someone who represents an area has to take account of all communities living there.
We talk about unity but I think we need to consider whether it actually exists in the communities.
Kate Osamor is one of my closest friends. She has been my comrade for years. We share the same views and grew up in the same borough.[/otw_shortcode_info_box]
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Ahmet Öykener / Yasemin Brett
(Enfield Council cabinet members)
A progressive candidate
Ayfer has been at the forefront of delivering a progressive agenda for Enfield.
She has presided over the biggest investment in Enfield’s schools in a generation and has a successful track record of combating a lack of opportunity and high unemployment in some of Edmonton’s most deprived communities.
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Ahmet Sezgin (Day-Mer spokesman)
Policies are important
The community from Turkey is not homogenous. Everyone has their own political views. We do not look upon this matter as “let’s have a Turkish candidate”. Rather than looking at who is elected, the elected person’s policies are more important for us. It is always an advantage to have a Turkish-speaking representative or candidate but as Day-Mer we do not approach anyone on an ethnicity basis.
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Oya Tuncalı (Turkish Cypriot representative in London)
Güçlü bir adaydır o
This must be a race that respects the rights of the host country, determined by delegates and conducted in normal conditions.
We know how hard Ayfer Orhan has worked and how successful she has been. I think she is a very powerful candidate. For the first time in that region we have the chance for a Turkish member of parliament, which we have only seen in our dreams.
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