Yılmaz: I will never leave this country voluntarily! (1)

It was in 1974 -- five years after she had gotten to know her future husband -- that the then 21-year-old plucked up all her courage and decided to marry in Turkey. Though, as she remembers, smiling, her parents were “not that amused” about the plan. “But it was perfect,” she exclaims. “I whiled the time away by getting to know the country, the culture and language; and I found friends!” -- all “things of high importance when you really want to settle in a country,” as she points out.

Also, she would realize quickly enough that her prospects of starting a career in Turkey were not that bright, having graduated from a vocational education school as a tax inspector. Another reason for never entering work life was her children. “I always wanted to give priority to my children. It was the right choice,” the mother of three is still convinced. “It was important for me to raise my children myself, especially because I also wanted them to reap the benefits of the German way of education.”

After her children grew up, Yılmaz didn’t remain idle. Knowing well the worries and needs of foreigners in Turkey and often talking about these matters with her foreign friends, one day the idea had worked itself out that a German association would be useful. “There were so many Germans here,” Yılmaz remembers, “but a real German community, a more systematic network, was missing.” This original idea back then was to set up a platform that would make it possible for Germans to socialize, exchange experiences and provide mutual support in general. “We especially wanted to establish a German lobby,” Yılmaz points out, explaining that already at that time foreigners were facing “an incredible number of restrictions in Turkey concerning residential and labor conditions.”

Preparations for the association started in 1989, and in May 1992 the impossible came reality: Yılmaz succeeded together with six other German women in founding a German culture and charitable association in İstanbul. “Die Brücke” (The Bridge) was born.

Yılmaz is still a member of the board and is responsible for interacting with the press. The organization has contacts all over the country and has about 500 members from Germany as well as from Austria and Switzerland. “Of course we primarily address the Germans,” Yılmaz explains. “We also include the so-called Bosporus Germans [descendents of Germans that migrated to Turkey over three generations ago] and we have become an important contact for German firms and institutions.” However, she underlines that they invite everyone who speaks German and is interested in German culture.”

‘Die Brücke’ -- a locomotive for foreigners’ rights in Turkey

The organization’s efforts have always focused on the laws and regulations for foreigners living in Turkey. Despite the estimated 50,000 Germans in Turkey, “problems have been and continue to be monstrous,” Yılmaz says, describing the situation. “The process of getting a work permit in Turkey is endless and still interlinked with many difficulties,” she complains. “It can take up to six months -- months in which the applicant waits idly.”

“We are following up all developments in the legal sphere very closely and are involved in continuous lobbying efforts on both the German and the Turkish side,” Yılmaz emphasizes. Although formally established and recognized in 1992, the association was active even earlier.

Two times, in 1991 - when the organization was still in its founding stages -- and 1993, the association released a report about the successes and shortcomings of their efforts and presented it to the relevant ministries on both sides. In 1994 the organization even launched a petition in the German Parliament asking for citizens to be allowed to hold dual citizenship. Also, in 1996 a draft for the reform of Turkish law pertaining to foreigners -- worked out in close contact with experts and lawyers -- was proposed to Turkish authorities.

Today, Die Brücke can already look back on some successes. For example, a residence permit had to be renewed every two years in 1974, but due to the organization’s active lobbying, a new law was enacted in 1994. Now permits are issued for five years with an allowance for renewal four times. “This was definitely a success,” Yılmaz says.

Another problem, she says, was the enormous cost associated with a residence permit -- YTL 1,800 for five years of residence. After significant efforts exerted by foreigners as well as Die Brücke’s involvement, a new law was enacted in 2003 according to which married Germans are excused from the fees. However, Yılmaz also adds: “There is still much to do. For example it is still the case in Turkey that implementation of laws changes from officer to officer.”