ISTANBUL – When a Dutch company contacted Turkish data scientist Bulut Ficci for a job based in the Netherlands, he didn’t think twice. Almost a year ago, the 25-year-old packed his bags, left his life and friends behind in Istanbul, and joined a growing exodus of disillusioned young Turks who say they’ve already given up on their country.
I love Turkey, but I couldn’t even live in a city like Istanbul anymore. Politics and economy have been declining. It was time to go.” he said during a phone call from his apartment in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
As the election, now due on May 14, approaches, many Turks are voting with their feet, citing mistrust of the government, a crackdown on free speech, inflation and deteriorating business opportunities. According to a recent survey by the German-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation, more than 70 percent of 18-25-year-olds said they would prefer to live elsewhere, while more than 60 percent said they did not see a good future in Turkey. But it’s not just the young crowd that has been looking for a way out. According to the report of the Republican People’s Party, the main opposition Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has lost the third most millionaires in the world. In this report, published in 2021, 23,000 businessmen, including 10,000 millionaires, left Turkey in the three years ending in 2021. In 2020, Turkish capital outflows reached approximately $44 billion, a sharp increase over the $4 billion inflows. It was published in 2012.
ISTANBUL – When a Dutch company contacted Turkish data scientist Bulut Ficci for a job based in the Netherlands, he didn’t think twice. Almost a year ago, the 25-year-old packed his bags, left his life and friends behind in Istanbul, and joined a growing exodus of disillusioned young Turks who say they’ve already given up on their country.
I love Turkey, but I couldn’t even live in a city like Istanbul anymore. Politics and economy have been declining. It was time to go.” he said during a phone call from his apartment in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
As the election, now due on May 14, approaches, many Turks are voting with their feet, citing mistrust of the government, a crackdown on free speech, inflation and deteriorating business opportunities. According to a recent survey by the German-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation, more than 70 percent of 18-25-year-olds said they would prefer to live elsewhere, while more than 60 percent said they did not see a good future in Turkey. But it’s not just the young crowd that has been looking for a way out. According to the report of the Republican People’s Party, the main opposition Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has lost the third most millionaires in the world. In this report, published in 2021, 23,000 businessmen, including 10,000 millionaires, left Turkey in the three years ending in 2021. In 2020, Turkish capital outflows reached approximately $44 billion, a sharp increase over the $4 billion inflows. It was published in 2012.
This has not always been the case. When Erdogan first rose to national office as prime minister in 2003, things were looking up. Turkey’s economy was booming and the unemployment rate was falling. This year’s 100th anniversary of the republic was supposed to be a joyous celebration of success. But instead, the “new Turkey” Erdogan sought to build authoritarianism, said Ahmet Erdi Ozturk, assistant professor of politics at London Metropolitan University.
Since the founding of the Republic of Turkey, we have seen several waves of migration, but this new wave has increased since the government’s crackdown on the 2013 protests in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, as well as the failed coup in 2016. Students, young professionals, celebrities, the upper middle class and even religious groups are leaving, Ozturk said. They are joining the diaspora community that has settled mainly in Europe in recent decades. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of this country, more than 6.5 million Turks currently live abroad.
It may not get better. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party faces a tough campaign amid declining support in polls, largely over his handling of the country’s economy. But the six main opposition parties have yet to announce a presidential candidate for the race, and time is running out.
“People need a positive development to come back,” Ozturk said. “If there is a change of government and a process of reconstruction, we could probably see a return migration, but at the moment, most of the people who left see no hope for change. It seems that after the election, we will only see another wave of people who want to leave Turkey.
Although Fisici said he enjoyed his job and life in the Netherlands, he hoped that one day – in his 30s or 40s – he would be able to have a “good life” back home. He refers to his generation as unlucky: “When we were growing up, we were happier. The economy was better and our families were not living on the brink of financial survival. Today, most of the people I know are stressed not only because of the economic problems, but also because of the government. We are afraid to speak up or share our thoughts on social media. “There is a kind of collective fear that makes people leave.”
The recent migration has affected Turkey. We hear a lot of people talking about quitting and it’s a serious problem. “They are the most important capital of Turkey and it is being evacuated.” The gap between the Justice and Development Party and its policies and the young generation is obvious. More support for the Justice and Development Party shows itself in the older generation.
Gokce Tunja, 39, said he does not support his country’s current leadership. We have seen the same government in the last two decades. They have their own style, and it doesn’t suit me. He had already worked with him in Turkey. He is in contact with at least 20 other Turks who, like him, left Turkey in recent years and are now based in the southern French city of Grenoble.
If the situation improves, I will definitely return to Turkey. Right now, I feel powerless, I can’t change anything. Purchasing power has steadily declined over the years and I don’t trust the political system. That was part of the reason I decided to go.” But not without looking back, he said. France is a good place to live, but it is not home.