A group of Afro Turks from the Ortaca, Dalaman and Köyceğiz districts of Muğla province recently gathered in the village of Güzelyurt in Ortaca to discuss Obama’s presidency, as part of a discussion organized by the Anatolia Africans Solidarity Association. Outside the meeting, members of the association held placards and signs that read messages like “We Love You Barack Obama, We’re Ready to Welcome You to Muğla.”Ali Karakuş, the association’s president, noted that the organization was founded only last year, saying: “The aim of our association is to stand up for the Turkish citizens with African roots who live in our region and in Turkey as a whole. Even though our roots are in Africa, we are proud to have been born and raised in Turkey and to be Turkish citizens. Our grandfathers fought like heroes against the enemy during the War of Independence. Not everyone is so lucky as to live in Turkey. Our grandfathers were brought to Anatolia from Kenya, Somalia, Algeria, Sudan, Egypt and Libya.”
In the mid-18th century, Africans were brought to Turkey to work in fields, Karakuş noted. “The second group of people of African descent came to work in fields in Dalaman, sent by an Ottoman pasha in Egypt in the early 1900s. When the farm in Dalaman was closed during the Atatürk period, the state gave us the land at no charge. Those who came from Africa were treated very well both during the Ottoman Empire and the Republican period. … Because of their communal lifestyle, those of African heritage in Turkey were able to preserve their culture,” he explained.
The group president noted that many members of his association were big fans of Obama, saying that they hoped he would visit Turkey. “Following his swearing-in ceremony, we sent Obama an invitation to Muğla through the press. Turks of African descent believe that Obama’s election to the US presidency has strengthened US-Turkey relations. Within the next couple of days we also plan to extend an official invitation from our organization to the US Embassy in Ankara. If Obama comes to Muğla, we’ll sacrifice an animal on his behalf to welcome him,” he said.
