CEFTUS, The Centre for Turkey Studies has held a public forum on the importance of building bridges between the UK and Turkey and immigration issues.
Ayşegül Yeşildağlar.
The event kindly chaired by journalist Mr Michael Daventry featured keynote speakers, MP Keith Vaz (Former Minister for Europe, 1999-2001), former Turkish Attache for Labour and Social Security in Stockholm, Rotterdam, Brussels and London Mrs Aysegul Yesildaglar and immigration lawyers and Ms Maria Patsalos.
MP Keith Vaz discussed how important CEFTUS should work to build bridges between the UK and Turkey, and focused on the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian conflict.
He criticised the lack of support Turkey has received since opening its borders to Syria and accepting a large number of refugees. MP Keith Vaz also announced that the Home Affairs Parliamentary Select Committee would be travelling to Turkey to visit refugee camps there.
He also expressed a great deal of support for the 1963 Ankara Association Agreement.
Mrs Yesildaglar gave a presentation on social and legal aspects of Turkish Migration. She noted that around 5.5 million Turks (including Kurds and Turkish Cypriots), are in Western Europe, and approximately 250,000 Turkish speakers are found in the UK, this figure she said, was more formal and stated that there could be up to 500,000.
She stated in the UK, Turkish Cypriots migrated between 1945-55 and later came as refugees following the 1974 War. She also noted that others from mainland Turkey came as individuals seeking employment (not masses of labourers like elsewhere) and later were re-united in Britain with their families.
“Turkish migrants have a quasi-status in the privileges afforded to them by the Ankara Agreement, not quite the same as an EU member state but greater than that of other non-member states, for instance Turkish citizens are able to take their cases to the European Court of Justice” added Aysegul Yesildaglar.
Expert in immigration rules, lawyer Ms Patsalos described the immense change in immigration over the last ten years and that the rules have become stricter. She said that the recent coalition and Conservative governments have aimed to restrict as many visas as possible, but haven’t restricted the Ankara Agreement. Ms Patsaolos said that Turkish migrants are not required to sit a ‘Life in the UK’ test like other migrants, and simply have to show that their level of English competency is of a high enough standard.
According to Mrs Yesildaglar most Turkish speaking immigrants are Sunni Muslims, but other groups such as Alevi Muslims and those classified as “Secular” by British authorities also have sizeable presences. She feels educational attainment is generally low in these communities, but younger women are achieving higher standards of education, going on to university and taking up roles as professionals in the NHS or in the legal sector.
The forum ended with a question and answer sessions