Reaching for the moon

“President Kennedy congratulated us and then asked, ‘Do you guys think we can land some of you on the moon and bring you back before the end of the decade?’

“We all excitedly replied ‘yes!’ But after we left the White House some of us gasped, ‘Is he nuts?’”

For such a major feat a deadline of less than a decade was given.

This challenge really got me thinking. I began to wonder just when Turkey first applied to become a member of the EU. Although placing a human on the moon sounded impossible at one time, I never thought that Turkey joining the EU would be.

As I stopped and began to think about this I realized that it has actually turned out to be a longer race for “space” for Turkey than for the Americans and Soviets in their race for space.

Turkey made the initial application to accede to the European Union in 1987. The ironic thing is that Turkey has been an associate member of the EU since the early 1960s.

Turkey is a member of a long list of councils and organizations that bring prestige. But these have not sped up the process of obtaining full membership in the EU. When serious negotiations were started in 2005, it was suggested that should it be in Turkey’s favor, the process would take about a decade.

Due to a number of domestic and external problems, accession talks have been delayed. The Cyprus problem presents a major obstacle.

Turkey as a nation -- for the most part -- has been committed to overcoming challenges. More recently, Turkey has been commended by some dignitaries for the recent deal with Armenia to reopen the border between the two countries and establish diplomatic relations.

Turkey is also taking steps in the right direction to ease the constraints surrounding minorities in this country. More recent efforts to improve relations with the Kurdish authorities in Iraq and with its own Kurdish minority have gained widespread praise.

In addition to this, Turkey’s relationship with neighboring country Syria seems to be thawing as a law was passed in June to determine Turkey’s border with Syria.

Turkey is making progress on many fronts, but another area of major concern is the role and status of women. I came across an interesting update on this topic. It reports that women’s participation in the Turkish labor force stands at 24 percent, far below the EU average of 57 percent. Gülseren Onanç, head of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey, explained in an interview that women’s access to education is still below EU standards and that women’s participation in politics is still limited. Onanç also said the problem of honor killings will continue to be a point of criticism in the progress report. “The EU has been drawing the same picture for the past four, five years,” she commented. You can read more at http://www.turkishny.com/english-news/5-english-news/17184-eu-to-depict-same-picture-on-gender-inequality-in-turkey-says-ngo

That’s nearly a half a decade.

Remember the space race was an informal competition between America and the Soviet Union as each tried to outdo the other in what seemed to be the impossible -- to be the first to reach and explore outer space and land a man on the moon.

Martin Luther King, Jr., knew something about reaching for the impossible. He once said, “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”

Turkey has been in a race for membership in the EU for well over a decade. It seems as if Brussels has their way, the deadline could be extended past 2013. It’s been said it could be 2021 before the space race for Turkey, so to say, is won.

“Reach for the moon. If you fall short at least you’ll be among the stars.” ~ author unknown